NORTHERN FURY FIGHTBACK TO DOUSE FIRE

A TRIO of second- half goals helped the Northern Fury to a deserved 3- 1 win over the Sunshine Coast Fire yesterday afternoon.

Goals to Joe Thornton, Jake Perry and Tristan Russell ensured the visitors snapped a two- game losing streak and was a remarkable turnaround from the Fury’s four- goal loss to the Sunshine Coast earlier this season.

Fury coach Ian Ferguson had plenty to smile about postgame and said it was great that his team had been able to finally make the most of their chances in the attacking third.

“I was really pleased with the result, the guys were moving the ball a lot better and we are starting to get back to where I want them to be,” he said.

“In the first half we had a lot of possession but we weren’t penetrating enough and I thought in the second half they did a much better job attacking rather than just retaining the ball.

“I thought possession- wise, territory- wise we were the far better team and credit to our back four, they did a great job all game for us.”

Scores were locked up at 0- 0 after the first half but the Fury were quick to break the deadlock in the second stanza when Thornton finished off a sweeping team movement with a neat finish inside the 18yard box.

The Fury’s lead proved to be short- lived as the Fire hit back from the penalty spot less than 10 minutes after the opener but they regained their lead soon after when Perry snuck a shot past the Sunshine Coast keeper.

Russell sealed the game with a perfectly chipped effort in the final minute of injury time and Ferguson has now called on his team to take this momentum into next round’s clash with the South West Queensland Thunder.

“When we went one- nil up we sat back a little bit and panicked, but we got back into the game and went back to playing our style of football,” he said.

“We wanted to keep going right until the end and it was great to see Tristan score right at the end of the game to give us even more momentum going forward.”