GPS Football: The Southport School have broken a six year drought to take out the 2020 GPS First XI football title
“I was preparing my letter of resignation because I just couldn’t see any way I would be welcomed at school on Monday.” Those are the words of The Southport School First XI coach Joe Dolan after witnessing his side blow a 4-1 lead. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW.
Football
Don't miss out on the headlines from Football. Followed categories will be added to My News.
“I was preparing my letter of resignation because I just couldn’t see any way I would be welcomed at school on Monday.”
Those are the words of The Southport School First XI coach Joe Dolan after witnessing his side blow a 4-1 lead before holding on to win 5-3 in its season-defining GPS clash against St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace.
A win would all but secure TSS the 2020 GPS XI title and the boys from Southport looked on track to record a resounding win away from home when disaster struck.
Boasting a 4-1 lead, defender Max Sabados was handed a yellow card for a string of ‘questionable’ fouls.
MORE FOOTBALL
‘LINGERING ISSUES:’ SACKED KNIGHTS COACH HITS BACK AT CLUB STATEMENT
EERIE PREMONITION COMES TO FRUITION IN REMARKABLE COAST WIN
SPL: REPLAY FOUR CLASSIC GRAND FINALS
“It was a dangerous situation for us because their attacking players are very clever and I thought they could easily manufacture a situation where he’d get booked again,” Dolan said.
“We had a game plan that was working for about 35 minutes and then he got booked.
“I spoke to Max at half time and just told him to stay calm and be careful but then he got into a situation where he tripped one of their forwards and got a second yellow card and was sent off.”
It meant TSS was forced to play the majority of the second half with 10 men and Gregory Terrace quickly took advantage.
The home side converted a penalty kick from a handball to make it 4-2 before scoring another cracking goal to get within one goal of TSS.
“It was very tense at that point but fortunately we managed to get a goal on the break and Lochie Johnston, who has been fantastic all season, basically finished it off for us,” Dolan said.
“We managed to keep them at length for the rest of the game but it was very dramatic.
“There was a wave of relief because we were the better team and deserved to win and I think if we’d stayed at 11 v 11, we should and would’ve been more comfortable but that’s football.
“I have so much respect for our starting 11 and our subs who came on with fresh legs.”
After reportedly coaching in his sleep on Saturday night following TSS’s first football GPS premiership since their run of three titles between 2012 and 2014, Dolan said the monumental victory hadn’t yet sunk in.
“We’ve had a lot of things against us this year from COVID-19 to the weather when we thought we weren’t even going to get to play Nudgee let alone a whole season,” Dolan said.
“We’ve got a fair amount of time to enjoy it now and we’ve got Ipswich next week to finish the season but with respect to them, we don’t have to beat them.”
Dolan said he would drive to Brisbane on Monday to collect the premiership trophy.
EARLIER: PREVIEW THE MASSIVE TSS VS GREGORY TERRACE CLASH
EXTERNALLY, The Southport School is refusing to buy into the hype surrounding their top of the table clash against St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace.
Both schools remain undefeated with Gregory Terrace’s only blemish coming with a 2-2 draw against Ipswich Grammar School in Round 1.
But internally, every player within the First XI understands the importance of Saturday’s showdown.
A win will seal the 2020 GPS premiership, and TSS football coach Joe Dolan is confident his side is up to the challenge.
“If we turn up like we have been the past few weeks, we are a really good chance,” Dolan said.
“We’ve worked so hard to get to this point but there’s no way we’re going to put any more pressure on them because it’s just another game.
“They’re playing well together and they understand each other and if Gregory Terrace is better than us, that’ll show.
“You don’t win six games and score as many goals as we have and concede as few as we have without being a good team and they deserve to be playing for the premiership.
“We knew we had a good team and it was going to come down to our dynamic and how we play together and everyone can see that they have formed a strong unit.”
The last time TSS played Gregory Terrace in Brisbane, their opposition ran away 5-0 winners.
Despite evening the ledger with a 1-0 win last year, Dolan said a handful of boys who were part of the 2018 side still wanted to rectify the “humiliating” loss when they return to Lynagh Oval for a 1pm kick-off on Saturday.
“It’s important for us to set the record straight so it’s another layer of motivation for us,” Dolan said.
“You’ll never hear from me that I expect to win but we want to win.”
Hockeyroo outcast reveals her next sporting move
Shunned Hockeyroo Rosie Malone has revealed the next step in her sporting journey and her new coach believes she could have played for Australia in this chosen sport.
REVEALED: The stars of the Khukuri Football Carnival
The annual Khukuri Toowoomba Football Carnival was held over the weekend and we are shining a light on the stars of the competition. See who made the list from your team here.