http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league/roar-win-seven-goal-thriller-163029/

Roar win seven-goal thriller

Queensland Roar moved into third place on the A-League ladder with a 4-3 win over Central Coast Mariners in a Bluetongue Stadium thriller.
A double from Dutchman Sergio van Dijk and a classy finish from the impressive Tahj Minniecon put Frank Farina’s side in control before Pedj Bojic’s own goal sealed the points for the visitors, who maintained their unbeaten record in Gosford.

A late strike from Matt Simon his second goal of the game made it a nervous final 10 minutes for Roar but they managed to hold off a late charge from the hosts.

Minniecon, who will join Gold Coast United next season, was in irresistible form all night with a virtuoso display full of pace and guile and gave the normally-reliable Mariners fullback Dean Heffernan a torrid time.

It was the Mariners who drew first blood after six minutes when Dylan Macallister and Simon combined well to set up veteran striker Nik Mrjda, who swept the ball past Griffin McMaster from close range.

The hosts could have doubled their advantage when Simon latched onto a Macallister flick-on and chipped the ball over the advancing McMaster, only to see his effort drop on the wrong side of the post.

Despite their early setback, Queensland looked the better side and were unlucky not to restore parity when Luke DeVere hit the bar with a header after the Mariners defence failed to clear a corner.

Frank Farina’s side finally got back on level terms after Matt McKay robbed Heffernan of possession and rolled the ball into the path of Minniecon, whose ball behind the Mariners defence was met by the unmarked van Dijk to sidefoot home.

Roar then extended their lead early in the second half when McKay’s speculative cross caught out the hesitant Vukovic and van Dijk nodded the ball over the former Olyroo to stun the home crowd.

However, they didn’t have to wait long for something to celebrate when the impressive Simon latched onto a hopeful ball from Heffernan.

McMaster, deputising for the injured Liam Reddy, completely misjudged the bounce, allowing Simon to nip in behind him and prod the ball into the empty net.

With both teams really going for the jugular, it was Roar who grasped the initiative when Minniecon produced an exquisite touch, held off two defenders and beat Vukovic with a super strike from just inside of the box.

Minniecon was in the thick of it again on 72 minutes and played a huge role in his side’s winning strike when his goalbound effort was turned into his own net by the unlucky Bojic.

10 January 2009 | 20:54 – AAP

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league/farina-minniecon-unaffordable-163077/

Farina: Minniecon unaffordable
Queensland Roar coach Frank Farina says his side will miss Tahj Minniecon next season but the club were simply unable to match the offer made to him by Gold Coast United.
Minniecon produced one of the standout performances of the A-League season in the Roar’s 4-3 win over Central Coast Mariners on Saturday, but will ply his trade with the Gold Coast in the 2008/09 campaign after agreeing a lucrative contract this week.

The 19-year-old won praise from both Farina and Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna for his performance at Bluetongue Stadium which saw him set-up two of the Roar’s goals and score one of his own.

“I said at the beginning (of the season) that we are not going to be able to keep everyone and the offer the Gold Coast made to him was one we could not fit in our cap,” Farina said.

“Tahj was man of the match tonight, he showed his professionalism as he knows he is on the move next year.

“I said to him last week to put it in during training and during games and he has done that.

“But after tonight no one can fault his commitment to Queensland Roar.”

McKinna admitted his side found the mercurial Minniecon too hot too handle.

“Sometimes he is hot, sometimes he is cold but he was on fire tonight and he gave Heff (Dean Heffernan) a hard time out there and give credit to him, he played very well,” McKinna said.

Roar striker Sergio van Dijk, who scored twice, said he is finally enjoying life in the A-League after overcoming a difficult start to his Roar career.

“It is always a great feeling to score a goal but I was always confident I would get the form back,” said the Dutchman, who took his total to seven for the season.

“We had a lot of options going forward in attack tonight, and that made it difficult for their defence and it made my job a lot easier.”

It was the third time van Dijk had found the net at Bluetongue this season, after his stunning free-kick in the 1-1 draw in December, and he admitted the picturesque stadium brings out the best in him.

“I think it must be something to do with the view of the palm trees behind the goal there!” he said

Duration : 0:9:57

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Duration : 0:2:45

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http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=28988

Fury, Reds in goal feast

North Queensland and Adelaide United have played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night.
United was in the box seat to collect the three points when it led 2-1 midway through the second half but two goals in the space of four minutes saw the Fury take an unlikely lead.
The 10,773 crowd was stunned but were brought back to life when a hand ball call on Dyron Daal in the box during injury-time handed Adelaide a late reprieve.
Lucas Pantelis took the penalty kick and coolly delivered the ball into the right hand corner of the net.
Both teams will be disappointed not to come away with the win but North Queensland will feel the most aggrieved given its many missed opportunities.
After the Reds generated a couple of early chances it was Robbie Fowler who scored the first goal five minutes into the contest.
The Fury captain charged into the box, swooped on a beautiful James Robinson cross and kept the ball low to beat Eugene Galekovic through the pace of his strike rather than its direction.
It took Adelaide some time to regroup but when it did it bounced back in impressive fashion.
At the 23rd minute Pantelis controlled a cross from Michael Marrone with his left foot and then kicked with his right to pass goalkeeper Paul Henderson.
The stand-in captain was delighted with his effort and his celebrations included a rock-a-bye-baby mime.
His theatrics were overshadowed 10 minutes later when he set up Lloyd Owusu for his first goal for the Reds.
The big striker headed a Pantelis cross and watched as the ball slowly bounced clear of Henderson and across the goal line.
Owusu performed a weird rap-style dance before beckoning supporters to lift their voice for the home team – and a new Hindmarsh Stadium favourite was born.
Adelaide was bravely defending during the second half before substitute Daal found the equaliser in the 83rd minute.
A long midfield pass found the Reds’ defenders out of position and a composed Daal guided the ball home as Galekovic confronted him on the edge of the box.
Four minutes later fellow substitute Fred Agius set up Daniel McBreen for a score at close range.
Earlier in the contest, Adelaide began the game with some second-rate football. An early shower made conditions difficult but some of its attempts to knock the ball around were disappointing.
A rusty Mark Rudan, in his first start for the Reds, cleared two balls directly to Fowler and was lucky he didn’t cost his side another goal.
In the end it was the energy and run of Pantelis and the competitive of spirit of Owusu every time the ball was moved forward which dragged the Reds out of their doldrums.
North Queensland trailed at the break but had every reason to enter the second half with optimism given its own positive play and scoring opportunities.
Its best chance, apart from the goal, came in the 32 minute when Robinson hammered a ball straight at Galekovic before sending the ball over the cross bar on his second attempt.
The Fury were centimetres away from finding the equaliser four minutes into the second half. Fowler released Rostyn Griffiths who cleared Galekovic but his kick cannoned off the crossbar.
At the 70th minute a pre-meditated one-two play from a corner freed up Ufuk Talay who hammered a ball through the Reds’ defence but into the woodwork.
And moments later Daniel McBreen blazed away but was way off target.
North Queensland’s attacking mindset was rewarded but it couldn’t hold on for maximum points.
Adelaide United 3 (Pantelis 23, 90, Owusu 33 )
North Queensland Fury 3 (Fowler 5, Daal 83, McBreen 87)
Crowd: 10,773 at Hindmarsh Stadium
Friday, 28 August 2009
by Marcus Wilson at Hindmarsh Stadium, Sportal

Duration : 0:9:58

[youtube 9UkVkNF6Jss]

http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=28742

Gold Coast thumps Fury

Gold Coast United showed no mercy in the battle of the Hyundai A-League new-comers, dominating North Queensland Fury with a 5-0 victory at Skilled Park on Saturday night.
United came into the match minus five starters from its Round 1 triumph but that mattered little to Shane Smeltz who grabbed four goals himself.
After a rusty start Smeltz opened the scoring in the 29th minute, then poured on three goals in 10 minutes midway through the second half.
By the 80th minute the home side was toying with its Queensland rival when Tahj Minniecon grabbed its fifth in a brilliant solo effort.
The Qantas Young Socceroo burst into open spaces and then with a series of fakes left a defender and the goalie prone on the ground before placing the ball in the net.
United coach Miron Bleiberg was modest in the aftermath, playing down the attacking prowess of his star striker.
“You can talk about all the goals scored and no offence to ‘Smeltzy’ but I am more impressed with keeping a clean sheet,” Bleiberg said.
Robbie Fowler was unsighted in his second match for the Fury with Qantas Socceroo Michael Thwaite denying him any sniff of an opportunity.
Fury coach Ian Ferguson attempted to change his game-plan after half-time but to no avail.
“They did a good job on Robbie, we tried to push a few boys forward but when he got the ball there was no support,” Ferguson said.
With Adam Griffiths leaving for Saudi Arabia midweek and Robson, Milson and Daniel Piorkowski succumbing to injury United had a void to fill.
Enter Adama Traore.
The 19-year-old from the Ivory Coast was uncontainable for Gold Coast and played a big part in the opening goals.
At 0-0 with North Queensland on the attack Traore intercepted midfield and put his skipper Jason Culina into space who then curled a ball 20 metres off the outside of his boot to find Smeltz who made easy work of a good opportunity.
Smeltz got his second just nine minutes into the second term, again on the back of good work from Traore.
Surrounded by three defenders, the teen stabbed a ball midfield and found Thwaite on the run, the vice-captain made it all the way into the box before Beau Busch fouled him.
Smeltz stepped up to take the free and belted the ball past Paul Henderson to give United breathing space at 2-0.
Seven minutes later Smeltz had his third and fourth in the space of a minute as the Fury defence began to crumble.
The first of the two came after a smart give-and-go with Joel Porter landed him in open space with only the keeper to beat, and the next came on a good cross from Steven Fitzsimmons.
After his fifth goal in United colours Smeltz could hardly believe his luck as he was swamped by his team-mates.

United was in control right from the start, but in the first half-hour without Griffiths and Robson steering the ship from centre-field looked a shadow of the slick outfit which disposed of the Roar in Round 1.
However, after half-time the men in gold came out firing on all cylinders to run away with the match.
The Fury didn’t enjoy a lot of quality possession but looked dangerous when they did get a chance.
Midweek recruit Shane Stefanutto was sharp in his debut and his left side combination with David Williams proved the home side’s biggest threat.
Gold Coast United 5 (Smeltz 29, 55, 63, 64, Minniecon 80)
North Queensland Fury 0
Crowd: 7526 at Skilled Park, Gold Coast
Saturday, 15 August 2009
by Matt Blomberg at Skilled Park, Sportal

Duration : 0:10:1

[youtube bWmJfTf1Vvk]

http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=32356

Fury’s slim finals hopes alive

North Queensland Fury pulled back an early deficit to defeat the Newcastle Jets 2-1 at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Jets’ Matthew Thompson opened the scoring in the 18th minute before the Fury’s Chris Grossman levelled the scores in the 38th minute.

Chris Tadrosse latched on to a curling long ball from Terry Cooke and volleyed the ball into the net in the 79th minute to keep the homeside’s final aspirations alive albeit mathematically.

It was a night of scarce opportunites with the odd window allowing both sides to register on the scoreboard.

Newcastle had an early opportunity when it was awarded a free kick on the edge of the box for a wild tackle but the shot failed to clear the wall.

Thompson refused to make the same mistake, pouncing on the ball after a poor corner clearance and with his back to the goal pivoted to shoot over defenders and into the net.

North Queensland could have easily fallen behind minutes later but goalkeeper Justin Pasfield pulled of a magnificent one-on-one save to stop Jobe Wheelhouse on the break

Grossman was gifted a shot when Dyron Daal chested down a high long ball and into his path allowing him to drive it into the net.

The Fury suffered a blow when they returned after half time with Daal failing to take the field due to a hamstring injury and replaced by Terry Cooke.

David Williams rampaged through the middle with an inspiring run but a delayed pass to a man out wide with defenders falling away cost his side a shot at goal.

The Jets had a similar opportunity minutes later when Jin-Hyung Song dribbled past several defenders but was stopped just short of the 18-yard box.

Tadrosse then latched on to a curling long ball from Cooke, plundering it into the net past a defenceless goalkeeper.

North Queensland Fury (Grossman 38, Tadrosse 79)
Newcastle United (Thompson 18)
Crowd 4,156 at Dairy Farmers Stadium
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
by Lendl Ryan in Townsville, Sportal

Duration : 0:5:42

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http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-league/phoenix-cruise-past-fury-278682

Phoenix cruise past Fury
Three second-half strikes into the teeth of a howling southerly powered Wellington Phoenix to a 3-0 home victory over North Queensland Fury.
Goalless at the break, as Phoenix struggled to put their strikers into space, goals to new signing Eugene Dadi, old hand Paul Ifill and defender Jon McKain saw them shut out Fury for a well-deserved win.

Dadi, who marked his debut for Phoenix last week with a brace of goals including a spectacular bicycle kick, was first off the mark barely two minutes into the second half.

Leo Bertos’ corner into the wind kept low, Dadi climbed high and found the back of the net with a well-placed header.

A clash of heads with Fury defender Matt Smith after 67 minutes left the former Côte d’Ivoire international bleeding profusely, but the Phoenix lost little when Costa Barbarouses took his place.

Ifill made the win secure with his ninth goal of the season with 12 minutes remaining as the Phoenix’s midfield built pressure with some intelligent distribution.

Ifill found himself out wide with space to spare, his first touch proved immaculate and a crashing shot left Fury goalkeeper Justin Pasfield with no chance.

McKain, better known for his feats as an uncompromising defender, added insult to injury in the 90th minute when his looping header lobbed over Pasfield to make it 3-0.

The bitingly cold winds and lashing rain meant there was no place for the free-flowing football of last week, when the Phoenix’s 3-1 win over Brisbane eased them into fifth place on the A-League ladder.

Both teams struggled with the conditions early on, and although the Phoenix had the strong wind at their backs in the first spell, they had precious little to show for it at halftime.

Ifill and Dadi were kept under tight wraps up front, with perhaps the Wellington team’s best chance of the opening stanza coming after 37 minutes.

Ifill sliced through the midfield, but his touch approaching goal was a little heavy and the resulting shot skewed across the goal face without troubling Pasfield.

The Queenslanders had a couple of early chances, the most dangerous coming after barely two minutes, when an uncharacteristic McKain error left Robbie Fowler clear in the box.

Pressure from the scrambling defence and some strong work from Liam Reddy saw Fowler’s shot crash into the side netting.

Fowler featured again with a fine touch that saw striker Dyron Daal beat the offside trap and force a superb save from Reddy.

But the Phoenix put their lacklustre first half emphatically behind them with a trifecta of second-half goals that put them firmly into contention for a mid-February play-offs berth.
15 January 2010 | 19:26 – AAP

Duration : 0:10:0

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http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=30240

Fury on song at home
North Queensland Fury came from behind to defeat Perth Glory 2-1 at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Saturday night.
North Queenslands Robbie Fowler scored in the 65th minute from sneaky free kick while defenders backs were turned before Dyron Daal curved a stunning left-foot shot in the 71st minute into the top left of the goal.
Perths Victor Sikora slotted home a precision pass in the 24th minute to give his side a first half lead.
It is the first home win of the season for the Fury and only second of the season taking them off the bottom of the ladder while for the Glory it is back to back losses.
North Queensland coach Ian Ferguson said the win was a long-time coming after a run of draws and losses.
“I am absolutely delighted, it was long time coming, but to get he result tonight was fantastic, especially when the chips were down,” he said.
“It was the same old story, the ball looking like it was out and the boys stopped playing, I was ready to scream at the linesman and the next thing the ball is in the net.”
“To come up with two fantastic goals, Fowler being so quick to put the ball into the net it was sensational.”
“It was a never-racking last 20 minutes for me.”
“It is a huge boost for us (moving off the bottom of the ladder), for the last few weeks we have had the opportunity but we didnt take it.”
Perth Glory coach David Mitchell said his side was outplayed but rued the Fowler goal.
“I think it has been building (the win), I said before that North Queensland have be looking very good at home and tonight they played very well and deserved to win,” he said.
“It was disappointing to have a 1-0 lead and then conceded a goal off a free kick.”
“They (Fury) deserved to win, they fought well and had a quite a few players missing from their team and they came at us and caused all sorts of problems.”
Perth almost scored what would have been a spectacular goal in the 4th minute when a series of crosses eventually found Branko Jelics forehead but the strikers header struck the crossbar.
North Queensland almost hit back with its own piece of brilliance in the 16th minute when Fowler let lose from 20 metres out but the shot grazed the top of the net.
Jelic barged past lazy marking in the 24th minute before delivering a precision pass to Sikora to slot home first goal.
Jason Spagnuolo charged down the left wing in the 33rd minute before curving a cross into a lunging James Robinson but chipped the ball over the net.
The Glory went on the offence straight after the break when a through ball to Jelic out wide but his cross could not find one player in a line of attackers.
The Fury was gifted an opportunity when a back-pass was cut off by David Williams but the forward could not step around the last defender to get a shot away.
Fowler levelled the scores in the 65th minute with a sneaky free kick from the 18-yard box while defenders backs were turned.
Daal put the hosts ahead in the 71st minute when he turned a defender around in the box and launched a stunning left foot shot into the top left of the net.

North Queensland Fury 2
(Fowler 65, Daal 71)
Perth Glory 1
(Sikora 24,)
Crowd 6,332 at Dairy Farmers Stadium
Saturday, 24 October 2009
by Lendl Ryan at Dairy Farmers Stadium, Sportal

Duration : 0:9:56

[youtube bYG5Gv8C5X4]

http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=29589

Reds shut out Fury

Adelaide United has triumphed 2-0 over the North Queensland Fury at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Sunday.
Lucas Pantelis launched a thunderous strike form directly in front of the box in the 60th minute before Mathew Leckie sealed the game in injury time with a clinical dribble and shot into the bottom corner of the net.
North Queensland dominated the first half, threatening with eight shots on goal and four corners, but lacked the finishing touch required to find the back of the net.
Adelaide was restricted to its own half for most of the first term for just four shots on goal which was easily plucked out of the air by goalkeeper Paul Henderson.
The Furys Daniel McBreen looked guaranteed to score early when he lashed at a lose ball in the box with only one defender in his path but the shot was wide of the post.
Robbie Fowler pummelled the ball long from a free kick to force a save form United keeper Eugene Galekovic.
The strikers combined late in the half with McBreen charging down the left wing with Fowler on his inside but in a communication meltdown the marquee man let the ball roll behind him thinking it was meant for a team-mate.
United had its first real chance of the night straight after the break when Cassio forced a turnover on the wing to set up Pantelis but the striker could not get a shot away
A clumsy clearance from Henderson fell straight to an opponent who laid the ball off to an unmarked Pantelis to open the scoring in the 60th minute with a thunderous strike from outside the box.
Iain Fyfe almost doubled the score just minutes later when a through ball found him unmarked out wide but his shot went narrowly wide.
Dyron Daal was injected into the game from the bench and almost had an immediate impact when he used his height to meet a cross but his header was off target.
Daal won a midfield highball with another header into the path of a rampaging Jason Spagnuolo who brought McBreen into the frame but the striker again pushed his shot wide of the goal.
Leckie then sealed the game when he dribbled through sloppy defence stepping around the final defender to slot the final nail in the Furys coffin in injury time.
North Queensland Fury 0
Adelaide United 2 (Pantelis 60, Leckie 91)
Crowd 6,755 at Dairy Farmers Stadium
Sunday, 27 September 2009
by Lendl Ryan at Dairy Farmers Stadium, Sportal

Duration : 0:9:25

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http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,26446420-5000940,00.html?from=public_rss

Sydney FC keep heat on A-League leaders with 4-1 win over Fury
Two Alex Brosque goals helped reignite Sydney FC’s A-League campaign as the Sky Blues cruised to a 4-1 victory over North Queensland Fury at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Sydney, who went into the game on the back three successive defeats, produced a dominant first-half performance to effectively seal the result by half-time with strikes from John Aloisi and Brosque putting them 2-0 up in front of a crowd of 11,871.

Aloisi, who was only restored to Vitezslav Lavicka’s starting line-up due to an injury to Mark Bridge, broke the deadlock after 14 minutes when he took advantage of some poor defending from the Fury to lash the ball past Justin Pasfield from close range.

Brosque, whose pace was a constant thorn in the visitors’ side, doubled Sydney’s lead five minutes later with an extraordinary strike from the edge of the box.

The move was started by Steve Corica who won the ball midway inside the Fury half and put Brosque through on goal.

But with the home supporters pleading for a penalty after a clumsy looking challenge from Robbie Middleby floored the former Brisbane Roar hitman, Brosque swung out a leg whilst on the ground to sweep the bouncing ball past Justin Pasfield.

Sydney maintained their dominance and should have been well out of sight by the interval with Aloisi, Sung-Hwan Byan and Brosque all spurning decent opportunities.

And on the stroke of halft-ime centre-half Stephan Kellar was denied one of the goals of the season by a last-ditch tackle from Matthew Smith after he embarked on a 40-metre run from defence.

Terry Cooke’s curling effort just before half-time was the Fury’s only notable chance in a disappointing opening period that saw them create little, with Robbie Fowler cutting a frustrated figure in attack due to the lack of decent service.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Sydney firmly in control and seven minutes after the restart Brosque grabbed his second when he crept unmarked into the Fury box to nod home from close range.

The home side continued to press forward with Aloisi just failing to connect with a Stuart Musialik cross, but it was the Fury who found the net on the hour mark when Cooke’s free-kick was touched in by Rostyn Griffiths.

But normal service was resumed three minutes later when more shocking defending from the visitors gifted Sydney skipper Corica with a rare headed goal to restore his side’s three-goal cushion.

Sydney boss Vitezslav Lavicka’s praised his side’s performance and said he was especially pleased with the way his players bounced back following last week’s 3-1 home defeat to struggling Newcastle Jets.

“It has been a tough week for the players, but we were very good in the first half and used the wide spaces well and created plenty of chances to score,” Lavicka said.

“I was really happy with how we performed and I was delighted that we could produce such a good win for our supporters.”

Fury boss Ian Ferguson slammed his players after an ineffectual display.

“It is a very difficult place to come but even more so when you don’t turn up for 25 minutes,” he said.

“We were second best to everything, they won the second balls and we were well beaten and some of our defending at times was amateurish.”
December 05, 2009

Duration : 0:9:6

[youtube bxaRVfVIw7o]

http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=29140

Fury frustrated again

North Queensland Fury was forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Brisbane Roar at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Saturday night.

The homeside’s Robbie Fowler showed his class with a deft touch in the box before slotting the ball calmly past goalkeeper Liam Reddy in the seventh minute.

The visitor’s Matt Nichols dug his side out of a loss in the 82 minute after a shot deflected off him and into the top off the goal.

North Queensland deserved the points and had the ascendancy for majority of the night with and un-impressive Brisbane slow off the blocks.

They were rocked midway through the first half, however, when defender Paul Kohler was sent off after consecutive yellows cards for fouls on a galloping Sergio Van Dijk and Robbie Kruse on the wing.

It was one of many indiscretions in the encounter which was littered with 31 fouls.

North Queensland coach Ian Ferguson said his side was unlucky to remain winless in their maiden Hyundai A-League season.

“Again there were lots of positive from it but unfortunately you can’t do anything about the goal that was scored, it was a deflection, it could have gone anywhere unfortunately for us it went into the net,” he said.

“It was a fantastic gutsy performance, we worked hard, we defended well, it was 10 men for about an hour.”

Brisbane coach Frank Farina admitted his side stole a point they didn’t deserve.

“We definitely stole a point, we can play better than that,” he said.

“Many teams have done it to us but we got but we got one that we most probably didn’t deserve.”

“It helps even up the ledger.”

“I think were flat we treating the ball like a hand grenade and we refused to keep a hold of it.”

North Queensland’s James Robinson pummelled the ball long to find Fowler who slotted the goal to put his side in front early with just seven minutes on the clock.

David Williams found space in the midfield and tried his luck with a rocket from 25 metres out but just scraped the cross bar.

The game took a turn when Kohler was marched off for a tackle on Kruse.

Brisbane then found momentum against a reduced opposition and enjoyed improved field position and possession.

David Dodd had a crack after sustained possession in the box but couldn’t get it past the legs of a stacked defensive line.

The Fury continued to dominate after the break but the Roar were looking more and more threatening.

Williams and McBreen were substituted for Chris Grossman and Dyron Daal to defend their precious lead.

Robinson fired a thunderbolt into defenders which rolled to Fowler at the far post but his best effort to snag a goal from close wasn’t good enough.

The Roar pushed their troops forward with players lining up on the goal line waiting to knock in a header but couldn’t capitalise.

A gasping Fowler was substituted in the 77th minute for Fred Angius to plug the defensive gaps.

The Roar sustained pressure and it paid off in the 82nd minute with a strike from Van Dijk deflecting off Nichols and into the top of the goal.

North Queensland Fury (Fowler 7)
Brisbane Roar (Nichols 82,)
Crowd 7,173 at Dairy Farmers Stadium

Saturday, 5 September 2009
by Llendl Ryan at Dairy Farmers Stadium

Duration : 0:4:8

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