Redlands United have secured a 1-nil win against South West Queensland (SWQ) Thunder at Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba on Saturday night.
Redlands scored in the opening five minutes of the match as Graham Fyfe’s free kick found defender Jake Sherwood head in the 18-yard box who headed the ball over the Thunder goalkeeper.
The match also resulted in Redlands goalkeeper James Edgar keeping his first clean sheet since becoming part of the senior starting XI last month.
The match between the two sides was a catch up fixture after their original match in June was postponed due to the condition of the field after heavy rainfall during the week.
The last time the two sides met was in round three of the PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland competition where Redlands came away with a 1-nil win.
Before this match, Thunder was sitting above Redlands on the table but their narrow win against Thunder at Clive Berghofer Stadium on Saturday sends them into ninth.
After conceding an early goal, Thunder settled into the game and had a number of clear chances in front of goal that they were unable to capitalise on to find an equaliser.
Thunder player, Majok Piok from the under 20s side was dangerous in the box, with a number of his chances coming close to finding the back of the net in the first half.
Thunder’s best chance to equalise came from forward Blair Ferguson after his snap shot from inside the box forced Redlands goalkeeper James Edgar to make a crucial save to put the ball out for a corner.
Redlands United found their feet once again and started to dominate the end of the first half, as Feli Sheriff’s chances were both saved by Thunder keeper, Luke Macdonald.
As the teams came out for the second half, South West Queensland had the best chance of stealing a point but both opportunities were comfortably saved by Edgar in the United goal.
Redlands looked likely to add another to the scoreboard towards the end of the second half as Sam Roper made a run into the box and hit a powerful shot towards goal, only for the Thunder keeper to steer it over the crossbar.
It was a much-needed bounce back win for the injury-ridden Redlands United side, who had previously suffered two close losses in the last two weeks.
Redlands will be back home at the Cleveland Showgrounds on Saturday afternoon as they face Far North Queensland Heat from 3pm in an important clash.