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Opinion
It was a perfect night for football under the lights, on a pristine playing surface at a fantastic stadium, with one of the best teams in Queensland playing in the biggest cup competition in Australia.
But there was one thing missing – where was the crowd?
Lions FC played host to North Star FC at Luxury Paints Stadium the sixth preliminary round of the Australia Cup. North Star, languishing in tenth place of Football Queensland Premier League 2, had the gargantuan challenge of facing the reigning NPL QLD champions.
A small crowd of around 200 people were scattered around the 5,000-capacity stadium to watch Lions dominate North Star FC, with the final score coming to 8-0 in favour of the hosts in a professional display from the side currently placed 4th on the NPL Qld ladder.
The fixture, one that should have been coveted by both sets of supporters as the competition nears the introduction of both A-league sides and interstate clubs, garnered little support from fans.
What ought to have been North Star FC’s chance to showcase their club and supporter base in a spectacle against one of the best clubs in the state turned into a drubbing in front of a lacklustre crowd comprising of only a few of the Lions FC faithful.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The Australia Cup seems to have failed to capture the imagination of the fans in the way in which I am sure it was intended at its inception in 2014. No other competition in Australia has the potential to create the fairy-tale upsets and cruel heartbreaks that we see in its overseas counterparts, yet this fixture has passed by in the eyes of the fans as a midweek hinderance to a Lions side that has bigger fish to fry.
However, the Australia Cup has done wonders for football clubs like Lions FC across the country. As the inauguration of the National Second Division approaches, the competition has without doubt bridged the once unbridgeable gap between the professional and semi-professional game.
The Australia Cup offers from amateur and semi-professional clubs to play against the best teams Australia has to offer.
Lions FC central midfielder Fletcher McDonald relishes progression onto the national stage “[The Australia Cup] is always exciting. It’s special. I think it’s something all the boys look forward to during the season because there is that possibility to go on a cup run and compete on the national stages and showcase our talents.”
Despite being the clear favourites in the tie there was no complacency from the home side. Lions FC hit the ground running with the NPL’s leading goal scorer, Andy Pengelly scoring a close-range header in the opening two minutes. The Lions went on to lead by 3-0 within 17 minutes, thanks to a close-ranged finish by Joe Duckworth and another header by Pengelly.
The dominance continued throughout the rest of the first half, with midfielders Cooper Nichols and Fletcher McDonald quick to win back any loose passes from North Star and the Lions’ centre back trio of Jesse Rigby, Hassan Ramazani and Dominic Horward dealing easily with North Star’s attempted longballs and clearances as the away side clambered to hang on to the chance to get back into the game.
In spite of sporadic chances for North Star’s strikers, Horward added to the visitor’s misery in the 39th minute scoring a tap in after the North Star failed to clear an inswinging corner, rounding out a dominant first half performance with the hosts leading 4-0 at the break.
The controlled performance continued in the second half, despite the substitution of Pengelly having already wrapped up a brace in the opening term. His replacement, young striker Novak Kljajic scoring a brace of his own, as well as goals from Cooper Nichols and Ivan Ozzi leading Lions FC to a convincing 8-0 victory.
Lions FC captain Joe Duckworth said after the game: “We don’t really mind who the opposition is, we just want to continue building our process and I thought we did that well. A lot of younger guys had their opportunity tonight and I thought they took it well.”
The Lions will go onto face the winner of tonight’s clash between Magic United FC and fellow NPL side Redlands United away from home in the seventh and final preliminary round. The winner of that tie will become one of four Queensland clubs to progress to the round of 32, where a potential match up against an A-League opponent awaits.
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