Thunder-Struck down
FOOTBALL: A 10-man South West Queensland Thunder produced a stirring but ultimately fruitless performance at the weekend.
Playing more than an hour of the game a man down after the dismissal of skipper Jacob Bigby the Thunder fell 4-2.
The Thunder were behind early in the game after Mackay striker Kyren Walters beat a stranded Matthew Eilers in the 8th minute – his well placed shot ‘nut-megging’ the Thunder goalkeeper.
Simple defensive lapses have hurt the Thunder this season and Walters strike was a prime example after he capitalised on a simple long ball played straight through the middle of the Thunder defence.
The home were not behind for long though – Shota Aizawa drawing his team level with a stunning 16th minute goal.
Spotting the Mackay keeper off his line, Aizawa unleashed a stunning shot from halfway to score his first Thunder goal.
With the match balanced on a knife edge, two key flashpoints in the first half ultimately turned the game in the away side’s favour.
After questioning a penalty awarded against him Thunder skipper was given his marching orders in the 27th minute when he received a second yellow card.
Michael Lyall put Mackay ahead 2-1 from the spot before the Thunder had a penalty of their own in the 40th minute.
Last year’s top goal-scorer for the Thunder Anthony Grant had the opportunity to draw his side level but his shot struck the post.
Mackay extended their lead immediately after half-time Warrick Jansen taking the scores out to 3-1 after he capitalised on another error.
The Thunder refused to go away though and young gun Luke Lister had them back in the game by the 62nd minute.
Displaying fantastic ball control Lister slide the ball home to score the Thunder’s second goal.
The Thunder created a number of clear chances late in the game but Mackay looked comfortable before scoring a fourth in the 90th minute.
It was tough night for Bigby who didn’t see a lot wrong in his team’s performance.
“I think it’s really tough for everyone tonight,” he said.
“We really stepped up our performance from last week and played some really good football.
“The guys fought hard and fought well but they capitalised on a few mistakes and put us down – I can’t give enough credit to the guys out there.”
Bigby also had praise for Mackay but his counter-part Michael Lyall was not so impressed by his own team’s performance.
“It’s great to get the three points away from home, it’s our third away game in a row so we’re looking forward to playing at home, but overall it was a disappointing performance,” Lyall said.
PRIDE STAND STALL
The Thunder women were in the fight for 45 minutes of their match with rivals Western Pride.
Trailing 1-0 at half-time they had everything to play for before fitness issues cost them dearly in the second half.
With many players backing up after playing earlier in the day the Thunder wilted losing 7-1 to their Ipswich opponents.