United dream alive
GOLD Coast United are refusing to give up on a miracle NPL finals berth after defying the odds to secure a seasonsaving 3-1 victory over Cairns.
Treating every game as must-win as they fight to reel in an 11-point gap to the top four, United overcame the 20th-minute dismissal of goalkeeper Luka Zoric to run over the top of the visitors in Saturday night’s Round 14 encounter at Robina.
It was Cairns-raised striker Nick Panetta who ultimately proved the difference between the sides, scoring twice in four minutes early in the second half to turn a 1-0 halftime deficit into a 2-1 lead.
Brandon Reeves then put the result beyond doubt with a third goal in stoppage time, sealing a third-straight win for the hosts.
Their night had begun in horror fashion, with Cairns opening the scoring through Joshua Taylor in the 16th minute before Zoric was sent off for bringing down Taylor in the box.
With teenage shotstopper Eligh Williams brought on at the expense of attacker Rees Duncan, he wasted no time making his mark with a penalty save from Cairns’ Jamie Carroll.
While those within the United camp are under no illusions about the monumental
challenge of running down the competition’s top four, coach Sean Lane believes the signs are positive.
“That’s the measure of a proper team when you’re a goal behind, you lose a man and still have the internal fortitude to turn around, continue playing and come away with the three points,” Lane said.
“To be fair (to Cairns) they’d had a big week — they’d been to South West Queensland, they’d been to Townsville midweek for the FFA Cup so I knew they were going to tire.
“I told the lads (at halftime) that it was there for the taking. We went for it. I knew that if we got one we’d get a few.
“Every single one (of our boys) was absolutely superb. I couldn’t be more proud of them to be honest. And that (penalty) save from Eligh, top drawer.
“We’ve got some momentum going, that’s out third win on the bounce. The worst thing we could do would be to take the foot off the pedal, but we won’t allow that to happen.”
After 11 rounds, United had trailed the fourth-placed Brisbane Strikers by 12 points but successive victories over SWQ Thunder (4-2), Sunshine Coast (3-1) and now Cairns have kept the Surfsiders in the playoff hunt.
They face another crucial game against fellow midtable side Brisbane Roar Youth at 6.30pm on Sunday at Logan Metro Sports Complex.