Sunday afternoon’s Round 14 NPL Men’s clash with the Brisbane Roar FC at the Nudgee Recreation Reserve did not disappoint in excitement value.
Straight from the opening whistle, both sides came out fast and pressed their opponents, attempting to force a turn-over of possession.
Redlands ’keeper Will Smith was called into action after 11 minutes to easily save a shot from well outside the penalty box.
But Redlands were first on the scoreboard when Peter Klaassen rose above the defence to head Ryo Emoto’s lofted cross goalwards.
The Roar ’keeper couldn’t hold onto the ball and Klaassen pounced to calmly slot it home to give the Red Devils the early lead.
Klaassen was again in the thick of the action on 38 minutes when Emoto once again eluded his defenders and released Klaassen into the box, but the ’keeper managed to parry his powerful drive away from goal.
Roar continued to press on looking for an equaliser and they found it with what turned out to be the last kick of the half, as they threaded a ball through the Redlands defensive line to create a one-on-one situation with Smith in goal.
They made no mistake and went into the break all square at 1-1.
When play resumed in the second half, it only took a few minutes for the Red Devils to regain their lead.
A perfectly placed Emoto corner found Max Ellenger in the box, who made no mistake with his header to restore Redlands’ one goal lead.
With the game moving quickly from end to end, it only took the Roar five minutes to restore parity when they were awarded a penalty for an infringement in the area. They made no mistake with the penalty and brought the score back to 2-2.
The game continued to quickly move from end to end with both sides fighting for possession.
Redlands made the most of it all, when on 78 minutes James Piercy restored the lead for the Red Devils, pouncing on a deflected ball in the Roar penalty area and slamming it home for a 3-2 lead.
Redlands were intent on holding onto their lead and defended strongly. Just six minutes later, they were awarded a penalty when Emoto was adjudged to have been fouled in the penalty box going for goal.
Klaassen stepped up to take the penalty and made no mistake, driving the ball into the net to give the Red Devils a two-goal lead.
As the final whistle blew, Redlands had picked up their first win of the NPL season with a 4-2 away victory over the Brisbane Roar.
After the game, Redlands United technical director Graham Harvey had this to say:
“I am pleased for the boys. It’s been a difficult campaign at times. So to finally get some reward is pleasing.
However, it’s just one game. We must try to take some momentum into the remaining games and fight for our lives!”
Redlands are on the road again on Sunday, when they travel up to Buderim to take on Sunshine Coast Wanderers at Ballinger Park in Round 14 of the NPL Men’s competition.
Kick-off is at 3pm, with the Under 23s following at 5.15pm.
