Lions Comfortably Overcome Pride With Passion
Lions FC 4 (Diaz 2'; Butters 26', 45', 81') Western Pride 1 (Bird 66')
HT 3-0
A hat trick from Michael Butters helped Lions FC overcome local PlayStation4 National Premier Leagues side Western Pride at Lions Stadium on Wednesday evening to progress to the Preliminary RD6 Quarter Finals of the Brisbane Zone qualifying for the Westfield FFA Cup.
The hosts got off to a flyer when a long throw from Nathan Reardon wasn't dealt with by the Pride defence and Tynan Diaz turned the ball in from close range in just the second minute.
Pride were relying on the counter attack and showed they have pace with a couple of forays into Lions territory, coupled with some uncharacteristic turn overs from the home side, but Coach Warren Moon's nerves were settled when Butters found the back of the net at near post and off the inside of the crossbar from Nathan Shepherd's cross after the Scot had made a good run into the Pride penalty area.
Diaz forced Pride keeper Duncan Short into a good save to shortly before the break and any hope Pride had for a comeback were dealt a severe blow on the stroke of half time when Butters capitalised on good pressure from Lions on the Pride back line, finishing neatly with just Short to beat to go into the sheds 3-0 to the good.
Lions controlled much of the early stages of the second half but the introduction of Bonventure Thomas-Remijo just before the hour injected some life into the visitors. Joseph Duckworth went close to pulling one back with an effort just inside the box that Phil Zabaks needed to take a second grab at to prevent it crossing the line after initially blocking the shot and spilling the ball before Thomas-Remijo made his way into the box and drilling the ball across Zabaks to where former Ipswich Knights striker Mitch Bird was on hand to tap in from close range on 66 minutes.
Thomas-Remijo almost made it two for Pride just moments later but his effort went just wide.
Any thoughts of Pride getting back into the contest were all but extinguished when Corey Lucas was sent off for a last man foul on Butters with a quarter of an hour remaining. With the speedy Lions winger heading towards goal down the centre of the park, Lucas tangled with him and despite Butters trying to regain his footing with just Short ahead of him, Referee David Walsh correctly signalled for a free kick as two Pride defenders closed in on him, before rightly showing Lucas the red card.\
Tim Morgan congratulates Michael Butters after scoring for his hat trick in Lions FC's 4-1 cup success.
Lions introduced Tim Morgan shortly after, replacing Diaz, and the youngster did superbly minutes later when picking up Marco Jankovic's through ball, racing towards the box before sliding the ball across to Butters who's first time effort evaded Short before rolling towards the goal as he followed it up with two Pride defenders bearing in on the ball and making sure it found the back of the net and sealing his hat trick and victory for the Flight Centre Premier League leaders. Immediately after he was rewarded with a rest as Moon substituted him for one of the youngsters that had been included in the squad for the encounter.
Shepherd almost grabbed himself a deserved goal late on for his hard work on the night, with a long range strike that Short did well to tip over the bar.
It capped off a solid performance from the hosts and condemned Pride to their third consecutive defeat in the Westfield FFA Cup at this stage of the preliminary rounds when the PlayStation4 National Premier Leagues side enter the competition.
Pride had their moments, in particular midway through the second half when they threatened to peg back the 3-0 deficit of the first half. Ultimately though, Lions were too good and it particularly showed in the final moments of the game when they knocked the ball around and kept possession for the entire period of added time without Pride getting a touch.
Coach Warren Moon will undoubtedly hope for a repeat of last season's cup run that saw them reach the Round of 16 before being cruelly knocked out by Perth Glory in extra time, and with just two rounds remaining to reach the Round of 32, you wouldn't put it past them to again grace the national stage in this years Westfield FFA Cup.
FB Media Player of the Match: #12 Nathan Shepherd - Lions FC It's perhaps harsh not to award our POTM to hat trick hero Michael Butters but ultimately it was Shepherd who shone in this encounter with his supreme effort, pacey runs and quick feet; causing Pride havoc down the left flank at regular intervals. Special mention also for Ajdin Fetahagic who's proven to be a worthy replacement for the long term injured Matija Simic at centre back.
Played at: Lions Stadium Referee: David Walsh
Team Line-ups:
Lions FC: Zabaks (gk), Ahern, Butters, Diaz, Fetahagic, Gaffney, Jankovic, Lewis, Reardon, Shepherd, Takahashi. Subs: Murphy (rgk), Mollee, Cosgrove, Morgan, Ngoyi. Western Pride: Short (gk), Haack, Lucas, D. Browm, Rigby, Minett, N. Brown, Endean, Duckworth, Bird, McHenery. Subs: MacIntyre, Hawash, Thomas-Remijo, Geoghegan, Williams.
