United start over
GOLD Coast United coach Sean Lane is casting an eye to the 2019 campaign as he looks to bolster an NPL side limping towards the end of the season.
Coming off back-to-back 5-1 losses, United were again outclassed by the Brisbane Strikers at Robina on Saturday night, succumbing 4-0 after a horror showing from goalkeeper Luka Zoric.
Two goals in the opening 15 minutes of each half conspired to leave the home side 17 points adrift of the top four with eight rounds to play.
Having conceded their finals hopes are all but over, Lane said the remaining games would give him a chance to plan for next year.
“I want us to continue to improve (over the remaining rounds), I want us to get a settled side. I want to have one eye on next season,” Lane said.
“I need a little bit more experience – I’ve got a very young side.
“We’re in the process now of looking in Queensland, Australia and overseas to bring in some players.
“The goalkeeper cost us three goals (on Saturday). Their first, third and fourth goals were basic errors (from him).
“We had a chat after the match with Luka and he’s going to have to lift his head, get back on the horse and get back on with it. He’s a very honest young man, he put his hand up, apologised to the boys and we all move on.
“When you get past the fact we threw it away, there was a lot of positives in there.
“The only way we get in the top four now is if we start winning games and other people start losing games. But nothing changes for us, we’ll keep moving forward and where (the season) finishes is where it finishes.”
United travel to secondplaced Olympic in Round 19 on Sunday afternoon.
In the NPL Women’s on Friday night, Mudgeeraba slumped to a seventh-straight defeat with a 7-3 loss away to Logan Lightning.
With her side trailing 2-0, Shelby White dragged the Wallabies back into the contest with a strike in the 40th minute, but another Logan goal on the stroke of halftime restored the hosts’ lead.
Two more Lighting goals shortly after the break put the contest to bed, with Jemima Lockley and White finding the net midway through the half to provide late consolation for Mudgeeraba.
Gold Coast last night thrashed SWQ Thunder 11-2 on the back of a four-goal haul from Mackenzie Akins.