Spirit lose to Cougars | Bundaberg Soccer | Football in Bundaberg

BUNDABERG Spirit will look to lift before the season begins after losing to the Capricorn Cougars 2-0 in a lacklustre trial match at Wolves FC in Gladstone on Saturday.

Jesse Thompson helped the CQ team get ahead early when he slotted one home less than 10 minutes after the start.

Cougars spent the majority of the game in Bundaberg’s half, but it was Spirit who looked dangerous when attacking the goal.

Cougars lacked attacking flair and did not look like they would score until a controversial tackle on Fergus McIntosh inside the 18-yard box.

The winger was left thinking the ref would point to the spot.

However, the referee awarded the penalty against Fergus after he handled the ball when he inadvertently fell on it.

Cougars lifted intensity slightly for most of the second half, but still failed to reach the back of the net until the final minutes.

The referee had no quarrels pointing to the spot when McIntosh went down inside the 18-yard for a second time.

Thompson finished off the penalty – and the scoring – when he fired the shot past the Bundaberg keeper.

Cougars’ coach Brad Smith said his team had a lot to discuss.

“Our play was a bit disappointing. We were slow and a bit lethargic at times,” Smith said.

The Coach attributed a lack of ball speed and urgency for the sluggish play.

“Had we picked that up it could well have been a different game,” he said.

“We have been working on those so now we have to go discuss why we didn’t do what we’ve worked on.

“We’ll learn from this but it’s more of a reality check than anything else.”

Spirit Captain Laurie Stephenson was pleased with how his below-strength team performed against the in-form Cougars.

“We were down four of our run-on players so it was never going to be easy,” he said.

With Spirits stalwarts sidelined with injury and work commitments, the trial match gave several young players waiting in the wings a chance to prove their worth to the squad.

John Cullen and Luke Leggett, both 19, impressed in their Queensland State League debut against the Cougars.

“They didn’t look out of their depth for a single moment,” Stephenson said.

“They melded into the team immediately and produced some pretty sophisticated football.”

The pre-season trial match was played in anticipation for Spirit’s opening round blockbuster against Far North Queensland on March 27 at Martens Oval 7pm.

RESULT:

CQ Cougars 2 (Jesse Thompson 2) def Bundaberg Spirit 0