Late Winner Gets Strikers Home In Exciting Final

Monday 15th Feb, 2010

An extra-time goal by Sean Burke snatched a 2-1 victory for the Brisbane Strikers over Souths United in a gruelling Brisbane Roar Silver Boot final at Luxury Paints Stadium last night.

Burke’s late winner proved the difference between two talented young sides who had produced a high-energy and engrossing game of football that was a fitting finale to the tournament that has become an institution in Brisbane’s pre-season football preparations.

Any misguided thoughts that Stuart McLaren’s team might have entertained of a comfortable win over the only team they have encountered in the tournament younger than themselves were banished by Souths’ impressive first half performance in which they dominated and made most of the best scoring chances while keeping the Strikers almost shotless.

In the opening twenty minutes of the game Souths were the sharper and more committed team, denying the Strikers time on the ball and preventing them from getting their passing game together, and McLaren was by far the more restive coach as he exhorted his players to do what Souths were doing far better – playing a pressing game that forced mistakes from their opponents.

Seventeen minutes into the game Souths’ exertions should have paid dividends for them when the Strikers were caught napping and Souths broke away down the left touchline. As the ball was played across the Strikers’ six yard box, Souths midfielder Danny Murphy met it with a side-footed shot but sprayed the ball wide of goal with Strikers goalkeeper Brendan White exposed.

The Strikers hit back with a ball over the top of the Souths defence that saw Reagan Alder in a foot race with Souths stopper Jackson Dixon-Best, but just when Alder appeared to have won the race and was measuring a shot past the advancing Chris Bravo in the Souths goal, Dixon-Best snaked out a foot and emerged with the ball in a textbook sliding tackle to save his team.

Almost immediately afterwards the Strikers were dealt an injury blow when captain Chay Hews was pole-axed by a tackle in the middle of the field that forced him to leave the field a few minutes later, and they suffered a further inconvenience when defender Ryan Mottin was also injured and had to be substituted by Matija Simic, who had himself been the subject of injury concerns before the game. Michael Angus substituted for Hews.

Meanwhile, White was called into action to beat away a shot from Souths’ determined number eight who performed the admirable feat of dribbling past both Matija Simic and Jason Shade before letting rip with a left-footed shot that White deflected away with his left glove.

White was given further cause for concern in the thirty-sixth minute. Souths fullback George Wani, who had been having a high-speed contest with Brad McDonald that was composed of equal parts of fancy footwork and rugged athleticism, and that was worth the admission money in itself, gave McDonald the slip and cut inside from the right touchline to unleash a ferocious left-footed shot that flashed just centimetres over White’s crossbar.

Murphy then produced his own moment of inspiration in a crowded Strikers’ penalty area after the Strikers’ defence had failed to deal with a free kick. With bodies all around him and tackles coming in, Murphy dragged the ball back with his right foot before impudently, and almost in the same motion, stabbing it back towards goal with the outside of his foot, skimming the crossbar in the process.

At this stage the Strikers were reduced to hitting speculative long balls out of defence, bypassing a midfield that had dominated in earlier matches, but they came close to getting on the scoreboard with a rare attack that saw Angus hit a forty-metre crossfield pass to pick out Gareth Musson. Musson outpaced the Souths defence but was denied by a smothering save from Bravo at his near post as Musson pulled the trigger.

It was 0-0 at half time, with the Strikers needing to do something to recover their rhythm. And what better way than by scoring a goal almost immediately after the restart? This exactly what they achieved, as before the forty-sixth minute had ticked over McDonald had nipped in to charge down an attempted Souths pass before spitting the unprepared Souths backline with a through ball that picked out Musson. The tall striker then finished with aplomb, swivelling to despatch a left-footed shot first-time past Bravo to guide the ball into the corner of his net to give his side the lead.

Souths hit back only two minutes later and in quite similar fashion. With the Strikers trying to play the ball out from the back Shade dwelt just a fraction too long on the ball and was dispossessed by Souths’ busy number ten, who hustled into the penalty area to drive in a low shot that Whyte palmed away with his left glove. This time, however, Souths had Cody Shorter on hand to pounce on the scraps, and he tucked the ball past White from close range to draw his team level.

Shade redeemed himself a few minutes later with a volleyed goal-line clearance after White had been beaten to a high free kick by a Souths forward, who headed the ball past him towards his empty net as the Strikers lived dangerously.

And White was back in the action to better effect a few minutes later, saving at the feet of Shorter after Souths had worked their right wing to good effect as the game swung from end to end.

After the Strikers had survived this flurry a change gradually came over the contest as the Strikers, for the first time, began to impose their methods and their passing patterns on the game. Perhaps Souths, who had been playing at a breakneck tempo, began to tire as the Strikers got a grip on proceedings, but whatever the reason Souths found themselves camped behind the ball and pinned inside their half for long periods as the Strikers visibly gained confidence and grew in stature.

Twenty minutes into the half Burke made a near-post run to get his head first to a corner kick but could not direct it on target, and Bravo was forced to come sliding out of his goal to deny Musson who had been played through by a delicately lifted short pass from substitute Matt Thurtell as the pressure from the Strikers mounted.

Now it was Souths who were reduced to playing long balls out from the back, and most of these were being returned with interest as Souths coach Stephen Glockner began barking out instructions and pacing his dugout nervously.

A thumping volley from Thurtell went straight at Bravo but was hit powerfully enough that the ‘keeper needed two attempts to gather it in, but despite being pressed and harassed within an inch of their lives, the Souths defence held firm until the ninetieth minute to send the match into extra time.

The Strikers, however, were definitely the team on top and their continued patient probing at the Souths defence at last paid off seven minutes into the first period of extra time. As the Strikers played the ball through the middle of the park Matt Christensen looked up to spot a run down the right touchline by Musson and place a pass into his path. Musson then dribbled inside around a defender and, despite being felled, got up to lift a pass towards the penalty spot where Burke arrived to power a right-footed volley past Bravo to restore his team’s lead.

Bravo was back in the action, saving a shot from Musson a few minutes later, but to their credit Souths were not done yet. They dug deep and got a second wind. Their number ten missed the target with a good opportunity before the teams switched ends, and as they attacked down their right touchline and Simic’s tired header fell at the feet of their number eight only metres out from goal, White would have breathed a sigh of relief as the resulting shot crashed into his side netting.

Then, with only a minute or two remaining, Wani needed only an extra coat of polish on his right boot as he slid in at the back post in a vain effort to turn a cross into White’s net as Souths again worked their right flank to good effect.

But the Strikers, with midfielder Jordan Mason limping through the last fifteen minutes, were grimly hanging on and did just enough to get through to referee Nathan McDonald’s final whistle and win an early trophy for 2010.

“There is no doubt we were second-best in the first half”, McLaren said when reviewing the game later. “Some of it was our own doing, some of it may have been the circumstances. We were against the wind and we were probably still a bit jaded from Wednesday, because we’re nowhere near where we need to be in terms of match fitness. But probably the most important thing was that Souths, obviously, played really well.

“At half time we just spoke about not being too casual and complacent in possession of the ball and making sure we got back to the things that worked really well for us in the previous four games – playing and moving and supporting, the basic principles of the game – but with more urgency.

“In the second half it definitely worked and, while it was a bit disappointing to give the goal away so soon after we’d scored, in extra time the boys should tremendous heart and that’s encouraging”.

In a postscript to the match, Musson was fittingly awarded the Player of the Tournament award for his efforts in scoring ten goals in five games, while also contributing several assists and plenty of hard yards in the less glamorous areas of the pitch.