REDLANDS United FC Head Coach Graham Fyfe believes his side showed resilience and character to earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Brisbane Strikers at Amcal Arena on Friday night.
Fyfe praised both teams after what he described as an entertaining and high-quality FQPL contest.
“It was actually a really fun game to watch,” he said.
Fyfe labelled Strikers one of the strongest footballing outfits Redlands had faced this season and credited coach Kevin Aherne-Evans for building a “well-oiled machine”.
Despite Brisbane enjoying large periods of possession, Fyfe said his side defended strongly and created the better opportunities during the opening half.
“They’ve got some good, dangerous players, but I thought we defended them really well as a team,” he said.
“In the first half, they had a lot of the ball, but I think we created the better chances, which is what we’ve been working on.
“We just needed to be a bit more clinical in front of goal and we would have gone into half-time with a lead.”
Fyfe admitted he was disappointed with another slow start after the break, something he said had become a recurring issue in recent weeks.
That lapse proved costly when Brisbane Strikers forward Omoro Adoro weaved through the Redlands defence to give the visitors a 49th-minute lead.
However, Fyfe said he was proud of the way his players responded under pressure.
“Strikers were always dangerous, and I thought our boys dug in well. They showed character and spirit,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of adversity in the last few weeks, but to continue the pressure to equalise was brilliant.”
The Red Devils were relentless late in the match and eventually found their breakthrough in the 91st minute.
Fyfe said his side even had a final opportunity to steal all three points.
“Then, in the dying minutes of the game, we had that really, really good chance to sneak a win,” he said.
“But overall, I think the draw was fair and we’ll take it and move on.”
Redlands created the best opening of the first half inside six minutes.
Harry Christie received the ball near halfway with his back to goal and under heavy pressure before brilliantly rolling his defender and surging toward goal.
Forced slightly wide by recovering defenders, his shot from inside the box narrowly missed the target.
Redlands continued to threaten despite Strikers controlling much of the possession.
Just before half-time, the home side came agonisingly close again when a scrambling Brisbane defender cleared the ball off the goal-line with the goalkeeper beaten and stranded off his line.
The match remained scoreless at the break.
Redlands began the second half brightly before Adoro’s opener shifted momentum in favour of the visitors.
The game swung again just three minutes later when Strikers were reduced to 10 men after Rio Tommaso was sent off following a tackle on a Redlands player.
The Red Devils continued to press, with Finlay Lockyer going close after a sweeping move ended with his shot shaving the outside of the far post.
Redlands finally found the equaliser deep into stoppage time.
Lockyer curled a dangerous ball into the six-yard box and, after Freddie Cruise’s effort created chaos, Jeremy Saint pounced on the rebound to score his first goal of the season and level the match at 1-1.
Buoyed by the late equaliser, the Red Devils pushed hard for a dramatic winner.
In the dying moments, Redlands launched one final counterattack from a Strikers corner, working the ball through almost the entire team before earning a corner of their own.
From the resulting set-piece, the ball ricocheted around the area before falling to Max Ellenger, whose running volley flew just over the crossbar.
Both sides threw everything into attack and defence in an entertaining contest that ultimately ended honours even.
Redlands return to action this Friday night away to Logan Lightning at Loganholme, with the Under 23s kicking off at 6.30pm before the senior match at 8.30pm.
