Redlands United have been dealt a heavy 5-0 defeat at home to Western Pride FC on Friday night.
A hat trick to Harrison Sawyer, his second of the season after returning to the team, along with goals from Joe Duckworth and Mitchell Bird sealed the three points for Pride.
It was the second time Western Pride had defeated last year’s champions this season.
However, the night was not without its controversy with two potential offside calls dismissed by the referee.
Despite the loss, coach Nick Dibbs said there were positives to take from the game.
“James Edgar came in for his debut along with Carlton Westerdale. They both did well and made an impact,” Dibbs said.
“It has been a big transition and change at the moment, so hopefully the results will fall our way soon,” he said.
It was once again a young Redlands team facing Pride, with the average age of playing group only 22 years. It was only Dibbs’ second game in charge of the senior team and his first game at home.
“Our first game at Olympic was a transitional game and a handover process, as I had not had the boys so much at training,” Dibbs said.
“Obviously, it was great to be back at the Showgrounds. It is always a great atmosphere but it was not the result we were after,” he said.
Despite the loss, it was a milestone night for Redlands favourite Graham Fyfe, as he became the first player to make his 100th PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland appearance. The night also saw the debut of two Redlands juniors, Edgar and newly signed Westerdale.
Dibbs has been working alongside Matt Chandler for a number of years. After the loss of three players from the squad, Dibbs is hoping with his new promotion to not only re-enforce Chandler’s philosophies but bring in his own.
“I have a similar philosophy with Matt [Chandler] in how I want to approach games and what we are after,” Dibbs said.
“I do have my own ideas and we are going to try new things this year as I do not want to come in and be the same old coach.
“It is a big challenge coming in at this part of the season where we are not in the best of positions but the boys and the atmosphere are still positive,” he said.
Redlands have added Jason Pillay from Ipswich Knights to the senior team and he made his debut for the team against Pride.
Redlands United will regroup before making the trip to Mackay this weekend where they face Northern Fury on Saturday night.
