Young brigade helps the SWQ Thunder secure come-back win
ONCE OUR THREE MARQUEE PLAYERS ARRIVE, WE ARE PRETTY UPBEAT THAT WE WILL HAVE A GOOD SEASON. JASON HALL
The South West Queensland Thunder have come from behind to keep their pre-season hopes alive.
Taking part in the Kappa Silver Boot competition, the Thunder went into the sheds at half-time trailing the Holland Park Hawks 1-0.
They turned their fortunes around over the next 45 minutes however, netting three second half goals to Luke Lister, Anthony Grant and Fletcher McDonald to take out the 3-2 win.
Men’s team manager Jason Hall said the side wasn’t discredited by being down at the break, as their game plan came to fruition in the second half.
“Not a lot changed at the half-time break,” Hall said.
“The scoreline wasn’t a good indication of how the game was going. We had a number of chances and more shots on goal than they did, but we just couldn’t finish them.
“The coaching staff was still comfortable that they were playing quite well; there were just a few small things they needed to fix.
“To get it to 3-1 heading into extra time was a pretty good result considering none of the marquees were playing.”
A large focus of the Silver Boot for the Thunder has been giving the side’s up-and-coming talent the chance to show their potential on a competitive stage.
Hall said this was in full effect at the weekend, with two crucial goals coming from the younger players in the squad.
“Two of the three goal scorers were under 18,” Hall said.
“Luke is 16 and he scored a good goal to get us in front, and 17-year-old Fletcher topped it off for us with the last goal.
“It’s good to have the young players standing up at that level. Once our three marquee players arrive, we are pretty upbeat that we will have a good season.
“When the season comes around these younger players will probably not be in the starting side, but it is good to know that if we need to call them up, that they are up to the standard.”
The result puts the Thunder in a share of second place with Southside Eagles, however the Toowoomba side sits ahead of them with a superior goal difference.
The Thunder’s final pool game will take place on Friday evening when they face off with the unbeaten Lions Football Club.
Lions took out last season’s NPL, and Hall said it would provide a good indication of where the squad was at.