A goal in the dying minutes to Reece Edmonds saw the Northern Fury seal a 4-3 victory over Redlands United on Saturday afternoon.
Redlands came from three goals down to level the game after substitute Stuart Edgar flew above the Fury defence to head the ball into the top corner.
Coach Matt Chandler was disappointed with his team’s performance in the first half as they conceded two goals in the space of five minutes.
“You can’t play the first half like that and expect to win the game,” Chandler said. “They showed their character that I know is within the group and they played really well in the second half.
“I didn’t want to draw so we tried to keep pushing for that winning goal,” he said.
Both sides started the game slowly, as defenders forced the forwards to shoot from outside the 18-yard box. Fury became more confident in their plays, as they released quick paced midfielder Hamish Cassady time after time.
It was not long until the Redlands defence came under immense pressure, as the Fury forwards broke their defence apart.
Despite Redlands having their chances in front of goal, the turnovers in the middle of the pitch were their undoing in the first half. Both of Fury’s quick fire goals came from unmarked runs through the midfield.
Redlands’ attitude changed in the second half and despite conceding a goal early on, Chandler believes it was a big improvement.
“At the end of the day we did really well in the second half,” he said. “We created a lot of chances, probably enough to win the game, but you can’t play the first half and defend collectively the way we did. I’m hoping now that they can see they’ve got that resilience within the group and that will to win.”
The game looked destined for a draw until Edmonds received a through ball for a one-on-one with Denver Crickmore.
Redlands was without four of the starting 11 players with defender Jake Sherwood missing the game through suspension as Kai Halliday, Matt Gordon and Sam Roper are still sidelined through injuries.
“I feel like we are missing leadership from some of the more experienced players that currently aren’t playing because of injury,” Chandler said. “Hopefully now with this performance in the second half they can take that into next Friday night.”
Alex Warrilow also made his debut for the team after signing for the club last week from Capalaba FC.
Redlands is back at the Cleveland Showgrounds against Gold Coast City FC on Friday March 31 from 7.15 pm.
