GPS First XI football round 3 Team of the Week
GPS First XI football: How did round 3 of the season unfold? Revealed here along with the 20 players of a week which saw Nudgee bounce back and Toowoomba come back.
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Brisbane Grammar and Ipswich Grammar sat ahead of the pack after another exciting weekend of GPS First XI football action.
Ipswich, who sat out with a bye in round 3, were only a whisker behind a Brisbane Grammar team forced to accept a 2-2 draw against Toowoomba.
Brisbane Grammar were up 2-1, but a final minute corner kick from the visitors landed a telling blow.
GPS FOOTBALL ROUND 2 TEAM OF THE WEEK
Meanwhile Nudgee were in the winners circle for the first time this season with a dominant 3-1 victory over Terrace.
Churchie dealt BBC the same fate with a 2-1 thriller, while Brisbane State High and Southport shared the spoils with a 2-2 draw.
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GPS FOOTBALL ROUND 1 TEAM OF THE WEEK
ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Churchie beat BBC 2-1
Nudgee beat Terrace 3-1
Brisbane State High drew 2-2 with The Southport School
Brisbane Grammar drew 2-2 with Toowoomba Grammar
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Churchie beat BBC 2-1
In an arm wrestle of a game, Churchie had more possession, which allowed them to create the better chances.
The head of the snake was Isaac Caruana, who scored both of his side’s goals.
Zane North was his right hand man, very influential in the middle of the field with Lucas Herrington commanding the backline expertly.
Like in round 1, BBC played quality football without reward. They lacked that finishing touch and with an injury to one of their main men, and a send off to another senior player, BBC had every reason to be flustered.
The game swung in Churchie’s favour and from there Caruana was able to secure the result with his second of the game.
Evan Msonga was his usual quality self, defending his backside off and counter attacking with a number of charging runs forward.
Around him, Federico Traversi worked hard and muscled up in the middle of the park while Nik Skulic made some strong challenges and directed play in a defensive midfield role.
Nudgee beat Terrace 3-1
Nudgee clinched win No.1 of the season with a convincing win over rivals Gregory Terrace. Scoring early from a set-play header and another from the corner, the reigning premiers were up early. Terrace hit back for 2-1 before a long distance goal put the nail in the coffin.
It was competitive, but Nudgee were just the better team.
Kingstone Vaitusi defended strongly for the home side Terrace, showing up under a ton of pressure.
He held his own, winning those 50/50 battles.
After a shock 1-0 loss at the hands of Ipswich in round 2, Nudgee head of football Luke Condon said he was looking for a reaction from his side and boy did he get one.
“It was still not at our best but the effort and commitment was much improved,” Condon said about the bounce back win.
Spearheading Nudgee past the winners post was a terrific trio: Arthur De Lima, Ethan Rigby and Charlie Parkin.
Arthur De Lima:
This guy covered every blade of grass, supporting his defence exceptionally well.
Ethan Rigby:
Rigby was effective in the final third, scoring a ripper and assisting another to seal the deal.
Charlie Parkin:
Parkin had another much improved game much to the delight of Condon.
Coach Condon offered: “Charlie continued his steady form with an impressive display full of composure.”
Brisbane State High drew 2-2 with The Southport School
Southport again had a strong showing but couldn’t do enough. And the same could be said for Brisbane State High, who very nearly took the points had they not given away two penalties.
After a first half where the teams couldn’t be split, State High found the opener in the second half and looked positive as ever going forward.
But, a penalty awarded and converted saw the scores level at 1-1.
Almost immediately Brisbane State High returned the favour to retake the lead. What a response it was.
Alas a penalty in the late stages saw Southport settle the scores at two apiece.
Indeed captain Zen Pizzinat had ice in his veins, slotting both penalties to reward teammates for their hard work across the park.
Max Peereboom, a Year 10 student, had the defensive game of his life.
Benji Lam, Brisbane State High’s left back, was so dangerous advancing the ball that he grabbed an assist.
And it was no surprise that Elias Ali-Sheme was an on-ball ace, dribbling into dangerous areas and taking players on.
He had a chance to win it late in the piece but it wasn’t to be.
Brisbane Grammar drew 2-2 with Toowoomba Grammar
A 2-2 draw saw Toowoomba leaving Northgate happy with their efforts and Brisbane Grammar frustrated.
It was even as could be between the two unbeaten teams, before Toowoomba mustered a miraculous finish to stun the Brisbane Grammar faithful.
Down 2-1, the Toowoomba Grammar comeback kings tied it up from a corner kick with just 30 seconds left on the clock.
It seems in every sporting code, the Toowoomba boys just wind up in tight situations.
It was Aaron Picker who was at the focal point of their defence.
There were heads and bodies galore in the goal mouth.
Andrew McLeod once again proved why he is one of the competition’s best, defending stoutly and scoring a well taken volley at the top of the box.
Meanwhile, Edward Joe Keddy was a ball of energy providing his side a boost in the midfield.
And Ngailu Thompson continued his fine scoring form with a lovely left footed curling effort into the bottom corner.
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