BRISBANE ROAR DEFEAT OUR LIONS MEN WITH A-LEAGUE LADDEN XI
Despite dominating the majority of the game, a stoppage-time winner against the run of play hands our Lions Men their first defeat of the season.
In a competitive clash at Luxury Paints Stadium, our Lions Men played fast & furious football against a stacked Roar outfit that included Louis Zabala, who has over 50 A-League appearances, Taras Gomulka, who has featured 17 times this season for the Senior Men’s side, Shae Cahill, son of Tim Cahill, and both Rylan Brownlie and Ayom Majok, two young talents who have scored A-League goals in the 2023/2024 Isuzu Ute A-League campaign.
Brisbane Roar let their A-League boys do the talking, leaving many of their standard NPL side on the bench and starting seven players from their A-League Men’s squad. Showing immense mettle against players who have experience at the highest level, our Lions Men kept their opponents pegged inside their own half for much of the game. Relentless attacking attitude and a committed defensive effort saw Roar struggle to maintain possession in a gritty and aggressive match.
A physical start to the match saw neither side hold back, with both sides showing their intent in the opening moments. Our Lions created several chances in the opening minutes, the closest being a Joe Duckworth strike that curled narrowly wide after a shart cutback.
A swift counterattack from the visitors saw them take the lead through Rylan Brownlie after a cutback on the break from Ayom Majok.
Our Lions Men continued carving our opportunities, with Andy Pengelly seeing a close-range strike blocked and several desperate saves preventing us from breaking the deadlock. Hassan Ramazani made a crucial goal-line clearance as we ended the break one goal down.
We started the second half even better, with Andy Pengelly drilling the ball narrowly wide across the face of the goal within minutes. James Enticknap provided the equaliser, dribbling through three stagnant defenders before picking the bottom right corner with composure.
Important saves from both Cardiff Pond and Nathan Duke kept the score level before Shaun Carlos stepped onto the field and inspired a lively final ten minutes.
Brisbane Roar spent much of the final thirty minutes enduring our attacking pressure in a 4-4-2 low block, with Carlos and Finn Beakhurst playing vital roles in how we broke between the lines to create chances.
Shaun Carlos quite literally sent his marker for a hotdog, dropping him brutally on the edge of the box before firing in a cross that was met with a soft shot across the goal. Several one-on-one chances were blocked in tight areas before Roar snatched a winner in the final moments of the game.
A long ball down the left file saw Cardiff Pond exposed, with a first-time Ty Cobb finish breaching the bottom right corner. A frustrating result after an incredible effort across ninety minutes, but a strong showcase of our competitive spirit against an A-League-studden Brisbane Roar side.
There were more positives than negatives to take from the performance, but with bigger games to worry about, our focus has already shifted to next week’s away day against Sunshine Coast Wanderers.
MATCH DETAILS
NPL Men 2024 Round #4
Lions FC 1 – 2 Brisbane Roar FC
Luxury Paints Stadium, Richlands
NEXT MATCH
NPL Men 2024 Round #5
Lions FC vs. Sunshine Coast Wanderers
Ballinger Park, Buderim
