FQPL: 18-year old Lawesson helps Edge Hill Tigers claw through Champions League
Edge Hill United, led by rising 18-year-old striker Josh Lawesson, made a triumphant stride in the FQPL Champions League, securing a 3-1 victory on the road against Whitsunday United.
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Edge Hill United, led by rising 18-year-old striker Josh Lawesson, made a triumphant stride in the FQPL Champions League, securing a 3-1 victory on the road against Whitsunday United.
The match, which took place at Whitsunday’s home ground, was set to be a challenge given Whitsunday’s strong victory against Townsville Brothers in the previous round.
However, Tigers put to bed any question marks with Lawesson sneaking a sublime free kick under the wall early.
An own-goal and a stellar pass from midfielder Marko Hakala for Lawesson’s second capped off a terrific 0-3 first half. Edge Hill player-coach Ryan Murray was stoked to return home with the victory.
“They’ve won the league here for the past two years so we knew it was going to be a tough game,” Murray said.
“Whitsundays did make it scrappy, a lot of corners, free kicks, and throw-ins. We just had to have a compact defence, they did score one (Simon Rohan-Jones) but we kept the lead after that. A real team performance, we used all 16 players in the squad and everyone did their job.”
After seeing Lawesson’s talent and development last year as coach of the Under-23 side, Murray backed him to thrive at the premier league level.
Murray said attacking duo Lawesson and left winger Kirk Beech were a full-throttle threat throughout.
“Kirk played really well, he caused the opposition a load of problems,” he said.
“Josh was top scorer of the (Under-23) team and one of the top scorers in the league. (Lawesson) scored a heap of goals for the Under-23s at the start of the year. He had an opportunity off the bench to make his mark on the first team against Marlin Coast. Grabbing that penalty in the last five minutes of that match gave him a massive confidence boost. He got his reward (again) on Saturday for his hard work.”
“He can score on either foot and he’s grown to become more physical. He can play anywhere on the frontline, but he’s definitely a number nine (striker), he’s an out and out goal scorer. He’s got four in the past three games.”
Whitsunday’s rapid right winger Jake Kenna was in red-hot form after scoring a hat-trick against City Brothers in the previous fixture.
However, 16-year-old Victor Gill, a representative of the Queensland Under-16 team, and former Wales under-18 representative Harri Jones were both rock solid on the left flank of defence.
“On his day, (Jones) is one of the best centre-backs in the league,” Murray said.
“(Victor) came into the side after a string of injuries. He kept his spot at fullback after his performances and now he’s become one of the first names on the team sheet.
“We want to build from the back, invert the fullback into midfield when we can, to try and create the overload. We want to be patient in possession, and I think in the first 35 minutes of the match, we did that really well.”
Gun midfielder Travis Pershouse made an impressive, inspirational return after injury, while French goalkeeper Paco Le Port was outstanding. Advancing to the third round of the competition, they will face off against the winner of Across The Waves (Bundaberg) and Clinton FC (Gladstone) in September.
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Originally published as FQPL: 18-year old Lawesson helps Edge Hill Tigers claw through Champions League
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