Thunder sides silenced
Senior NPL sides look to regroup after defeats
FOOTBALL: On the road the Thunder opened their NPLWQ season with a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Mitchelton at the weekend.
On the back foot early, SWQ Thunder coach Craig Lockwood said his side was a little too “reactive” in the first half.
“We conceded a goal inside the first 10 minutes which hurt us a little,” Lockwood said.
“It was a great goal and put us on the back foot for a while.
“We were a little too reactive in the first half, second to the ball, but the girls turned it around in the second.”
Having taken a 1-0 lead into half-time, Mitchelton added two more goals before the Thunder responded through Lousie Rolfe with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Lockwood said there were plenty of positives to take from the game despite the result.
“They (Mitchelton) were the better side and deserved the win – they took their chances,” he said.
“There were only a few moments where they really troubled us though, and I thought we improved a lot in the second half.
“We started to put together some really good passages of play and got a few balls in behind their defence.
“Our back four looked good and we had more possession.”
Turning their focus to round two opponents Souths United, Lockwood said the team would focus on their “combinations”.
“We had three or four girls make their debuts against Mitchelton,” he said.
“When we welcome some of our injured players back it will give us more depth but for now we’re looking at our combinations particularly how we play out of defence.
“The other thing we’ll be looking at is shutting down quicker – not giving our opposition too much time on the ball.”
ERRORS PROVE COSTLY IN DEFEAT
Caught in possession too often, the South West Queensland men were soundly beaten by the Gold Coast Knights on Sunday.
Knights’ goals either side of half-time proved decisive for the home side who secured a 4-1 victory.
Adam Endean opened the scoring for Knights in just the fifth minute, finding enough space in the penalty area to slide his shot past Thunder keeper Mat Eilers.
Endean’s mazey run to goal came after Thunder defender Wade Hall gave the ball away cheaply – setting the tone for what would be a difficult day.
Less than 10 minutes later Max Brown doubles Knights’ advantage capitalising another Thunder defensive error.
SWQ Thunder young gun Keanu Tuart then showed exactly why he was thrust into the senior side as soon as his age allowed him to be selected.
Picking up a loose ball, Tuart drove toward goal before lashing home his shot from just inside the Knights’ 18-yard box.
Sam Smith goals in first half injury time and 30 seconds after the half-time break effectively ended the contest.
The task does not get any easier this Sunday for the side who will be away to Olympic.
The Brisbane team beat Western Pride 3-2 on Sunday.
THERE WERE ONLY A FEW MOMENTS WHERE THEY REALLY TROUBLED US THOUGH, AND I THOUGHT WE IMPROVED A LOT IN THE SECOND HALF.
CRAIG LOCKWOOD