Thunder hold out dominate City side
FOOTBALL: Brisbane City stormed the SWQ Thunder castle, but the home side held firm at the weekend.
Up against a City which pushed forward at every opportunity, the Thunder claimed a 3-1 win and their spot in the FQPL 1 Under-18 grand final.
City started the game full of running and created a number of scoring opportunities, but the Thunder were first on the scoreboard.
Muhammad Mehdi Amini opened the scoring in the 17th minute, and Declan Williams drew City level 10 minutes later.
The Thunder’s response to City’s goal was swift with Noah Lawson putting his side back in front just two minutes later.
“I was really impressed with how the whole team played,” Thunder coach David Lawson said. “We were positive and played well as a team against a very good City side.
“We have some great players who on their day are unbeatable, but the biggest thing on Sunday was how we played as a team.”
Trailing 2-1 at halftime, City upped the tempo after the break and went close to equalising on numerous occasions.
Jacob Austin scored the Thunder’s third goal late in the second half and up until that point it was anyone’s game.
“City were dominant after halftime,” Lawson said.
“They came at us the entire half and had a lot of chances to draw equal.
“We rallied really well though. Even though they had most of the ball we were positive and stuck with it.
“We pressed in defence and worked really hard to keep to stay in front.”
The Thunder will face Rochedale Rovers in Friday night’s grand final.