NPLW R21, NPLM R17
Our Lions Women suffer a second defeat this season in a burdensome battle away in Redcliffe, while our Lions Men are outplayed on the Gold Coast in a result that sees them hanging onto fourth place.
LIONS VS PENINSULA POWER: NPL WOMEN
The hosts stormed our backline across the opening twenty minutes, sentencing us to defeat with four brutal strikes. We responded valiantly, pulling back three unanswered goals, but were unable to break the Peninsula Power resistance, walking off with a stinging 4-3 defeat.
We were left shellshocked in the opening quarter, with Peninsula Power slicing between our defenders and overwhelming us from both flanks. A threaded through-ball allowed the hosts to take the lead with a smooth finish planted into the bottom left corner by Lanni McDougall. Two minutes later, a back post cross was half-volleyed into the left side of the net by Bonnie Davies before a sharp lay-off allowed Davies to steer a third unanswered goal into the back of an open net. This all happened within fifteen minutes.
Peninsula Power continued their rampant start with a brilliant solo run from Sara D’Appolonia leaving two of our players for dead before a sliced, outside-boot strike met the bottom right corner to spell doom.
We don’t fall that easily. With the unified spirit that saw us run 61 matches (and over two years) undefeated. Riding fired the first warning shot before forcing another fine save with a powerful freekick from the edge of the box. Amy Gunston received the ball inside the box, drawing a penalty, which Kalli Cowles converted with her typical composure. We had one back.
Tegan Riding burnt down the right flank with guile, driving a low strike across the keeper and into the bottom left corner. Suddenly, there was hope.
We came alive in the second half, pulling back a third goal after Amy Gunston made towards the near post, scooping a first-time strike across the keeper and into the top left corner. We had thirty minutes to recover a result.
Despite a divine effort and a showcase of belief, our Lionesses fell short of the final goal. We created plenty of chances and were met with strong resistance, but we put up a fight worth taking pride in.
This defeat means we hold a four-point lead over Eastern Suburbs, who we play next week in a massive clash on the road.
Goalscorers:
40’ | Kalli Cowles
44’ | Tegan Riding
62’ | Amy Gunston
HT: LIO 2-4 PEN
FT: LIO 3-4 PEN
LIONS VS GOLD COAST UNITED: NPL MEN
A balanced battle on the Gold Coast went against our favour, with a quickfire double early after the restart condemning us to defeat.
We started strong against a defensively-lauded Gold Coast United side, controlling the flow of possession and working the ball around carefully in the opposing half. A physical encounter saw us win our share of freekicks, with our first strong chance coming in the opening quarter. Ramazani lofted a left-footed cross into the box, which Pengelly nodded down for Ridenton to strike north of the net. The hosts followed up by striking the woodwork.
Fletcher McDonald forced a fine save from the edge of the box before Hassan Ramazani chased down Cai Tipaldo, sliding in from behind as the United attacker bore down on goal unchallenged.
Luke Borean was shown a yellow card after rushing off his line to clear a loose ball before chasing that ball down and committing a tactical foul to prevent United from attacking his empty net.
Jackson Hart-Phillips created our best chance of the half, taking on two defenders and squeezing between them to burst into the box on the left. His subsequent strike was unable to meet the back of the net. Pengelly forced a loose strike beneath an onrushing keeper in stoppage, but a sliding challenge cleared it off the line as it threatened to cross the threshold.
We ended the first half having created the better chances, but that did not matter. Two goals in five minutes after the restart undid our first-half efforts and left us with a massive result to chase in the final thirty minutes.
Despite making changes and fighting to pull one back, United defended with resolution, and we were unable to breach their goal. A difficult defeat against a top-four rival ended against us. We have no choice now but to turn our attention to Olympic next week, where victory is mandatory.
HT: LIO 0-0 GCU
FT: LIO 0-2 GCU
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