Race for finals heats up
FOOTBALL: With just over a month and a half of fixtures to be played the FQPL 3 Darling Downs competitions are heating as teams jostle for finals positions.
QPL3 WOMEN
South Toowoomba Hawks are back in the top four, despite a loss to Highfields Gold last weekend.
They face Highfields Green this weekend and will be conscious that USQFC are one point behind them in fifth.
Green will no doubt be energised after their win over Wanderers and will be looking to go for back-to-back wins, which has been a rarity in their season.
USQFC suffered a comprehensive defeat at Willowburn on Sunday, but can rebound quickly with a match up against Wanderers this Saturday night.
Wanderers will take some positives out of their narrow loss to HF Green, and aim to bring that positive momentum into the match.
With the likes of Kayla Miller leading the attack for USQFC, Wanderers defenders will need to start well and finish better to stay with the Phoenix for the full 90 minutes.
Rockville Rubies are still a mathematical possibility to make the top four, and what better way to test their finals aspirations and credentials than by taking on Highfields Gold at home on Sunday morning.
A loss could see Gold drop off the pace with league leaders Willowburn, but a win keeps the pressure right on the Magpies.
After an emphatic win against USQFC, Willowburn will face an in form Rovers side, who are undefeated in their last five matches.
The last time these two squads met they shared the points and no doubt this will be another enthralling match.
A win to the Rovers goes close to cementing them in the top four, but a loss could put them back in the firing line for the likes of Hawks and USQFC.
QPL3 MEN
Two week is both a long and short time in football, just ask the Gatton Redbacks, who two weeks ago were looking at the prospect of missing out on finals.
Now they sit in third spot, four points clear of fifth placed Rockville.
Gatton will face Willowburn on Saturday night, who will no doubt be feeling the pressure of Saints drawing closer.
The Magpies registered the sixth draw of their season with Rovers last Saturday night, one statistic that coach Jamie McMillan is looking to remove heading into the pointy end of the season.
After a 2-0 loss to Saints, Wanderers will need to rebound quickly, but they will need to do it without the safe hands of Matt Willocks after a fiery encounter saw both he and Noah Lawson shown their marching orders last week.
Wanderers face Highfields who realistically could still feature in the finals series if they can string some wins together.
Coach David Park-Ballay has started to turn the fortunes of the team around with the green and gold no longer prepared to just make up the numbers.
Despite not getting the win, Rockville will be buoyed by their 0-0 draw against Willowburn and will have a sense of confidence that they can take points off Saints. The last time they met it ended in a 5-4 epic. There is every expectation that this will be no different.
FQPL1 WOMEN
The Thunder women were able to keep their finals hopes alive with a 1-0 win over The Gap FC at the weekend.
Thunder were relentless with their final third press and were justly rewarded with a 21st minute goal.
With six games remaining on their 2022 calendar, every game is a must win for them now and they’ll need some other results to turn in their favour, if they are to feature in September.