It was a great environment for football at Compass Grounds on Saturday evening, and everything was set and ready for the Redlands derby between Redlands United and Capalaba in round three of the NPL competition.
The hosts were looking for their first three points of the season after a disappointing result against lions on Tuesday night. On the other side, Capalaba were also looking to clinch points from the Red Devils after losing to Brisbane Roar in their season opener.
Redlands United head coach Graham Ross made a few changes to his starting lineup, with Joel D'Cruz starting as goalkeeper after a brilliant performance on Friday night for the under 20 side.
Noah Hitchcock and David Salin came in as the two centre-backs, new signing Tom Ross played on the left and Rob Kramer on the right flank for the hosts.
In the midfield Luke Hendrix started in a holding role, while Josh Anderson and young Jonathan Mueller covered the higher midfield areas.
Kado Aoci started as right-winger, with Rory Smith on the left and Shuto Kuboyama as the false nine.
The Redlands boys took the initiative in attack and the first quarter of the first half saw a few unsuccessful chances from the hosts.
The Red Devils were pressuring Capalaba up front beautifully and it was looking as though the game was going their way. Surprisingly, Capalaba took advantage of some deft counter-attacks to put the first goal on the scoreboard through Connor Booth.
As we moved into the second half, Ross introduced Godfrey Debelle. The 19-year-old made an impact immediately, igniting the attacking side of the hosts and bringing them two free-kicks.
The boys showed some character to bring the game back under control as Gabby Hawash replaced Salin to strengthen the backline and Kimba Kobombo was introduced.
Unluckily, a disallowed goal for Hawash and a second goal from the visitors announced the winner for the night with twenty minutes left before a third goal was added late in the game.
On Friday evening the NPL Men's under 20s recorded a win against Capalaba and Saturday the NPL Men's under 18s also recorded a hard-fought victory in their derby.
It was a successful night at Compass Grounds, with the supporters coming from everywhere to show the support needed for the Devils and Bulldogs.
It was a yellow night, but it is only the second game of the season. The Reds now look towards Gold Coast Knights next weekend at home, with kick-off scheduled for 7 pm.
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