Flight Centre Premier League Weekly Preview - RD11

A thrilling round five of the Westfield FFA Cup is behind us and we look to Round 11 of the Flight Centre Premier League which is yet to give a solid favourite with only three points between first and eighth on the ladder. And there are some absolute belter games on the agenda including Mitchelton vs Rochedale Rovers and Peninsula Power vs Holland Park Hawks. On with the show... Logan FC vs Lions FC Friday 8:30pm at Cornubia Park Logan FC pulled off a sensational win over Brisbane City in the Westfield FFA Cup with only ten players for most of the game. Importantly, it was fully deserved. Make no mistake, the Lightning are in form and looking to add another scalp to their collection. If they can maintain a fair share of possession and convert their opportunities they have every chance of keeping their run going. Lions FC finally got back onto the winning side of the ledger with an easy 6-1 defeat of Grange Thistle as well as a win over Samford Rangers in the Pig and Whistle Canale Cup. If nothing else it will give them the shot of confidence they have probably been lacking through the lean period. The return of Alex Schiavo has made a difference but they wouldn’t want to fall away again. The “L” Classico has been dominated by Lions but this will be much closer than last year. Could go either way but a Logan win would be an upset. Prediction: Lions 2-1 Albany Creek vs Souths United Saturday 4:45pm at Wolter Park Albany Creek were easily beaten at Underwood Park and narrowly went down to Moreton Bay United, two results which could have a permanent impact if they don’t bounce back immediately. Such is the intensity of this year’s competition, one loss saw them fall from fourth to eighth, one place behind this week’s opponents. It’s still a long way to go until the finals but a loss here could have ramifications down the track. Souths United need to beat teams around them as their first objective which is why this game has added value. A shoot-out loss in the Westfield FFA Cup to Holland Park is far enough in the rear-view mirror not to have a negative impact but it will be interesting to see if they approach this game the same way, relying on the counter attack. Three points might be enough to get them into the top four for the first time. ACE tend to be better when they are at home but does that give them an advantage or just make the two teams more equal? Prediction: 2-2 draw. Peninsula Power vs Holland Park Hawks Saturday 5pm at AJ Kelly Field Peninsula Power don’t seem to have gotten over their propensity for oscillating wildly with a late draw against Capalaba in the Flight Premier League followed up with a mid-week thrashing of Brisbane Knights. They are still impossible to tip but a win in this game would ensure they get into the top four for the first time in ages. With Lions and Easts on the horizon it’s almost essential. Holland Park Hawks have no problem hitting the target but keeping a clean sheet, apart from thrashings of Grange and Capalaba, has been an issue. They were fortunate to get past Souths in the Westfield FFA Cup despite dominating possession and creating the majority of goalscoring opportunities. This game is vital with Power breathing down their neck so a draw might be enough, at least for now. Should be quite a few goals in this contest with a win having a huge bearing. Defence, therefore, will be the key to victory. Prediction: Hawks 3-2 Grange Thistle vs Eastern Suburbs Saturday 6pm at Lanham Park Grange Thistle completed an unconvincing 2-0 win over Southside Eagles from Capital League 1 in the Westfield FFA Cup which could turn out to be their target for the season because their league form has almost totally deserted them. Ten goals conceded in the last two matches tells the tale of where they are at right now and it doesn’t get any easier against the Tigers. Eastern Suburbs are the team to watch at the moment with their last three results culminating in a win over Mitchelton setting the tone for further improvement. With at least one more game played than everyone else the pressure and momentum need to be applied at least until the June catch-up weekend. No reason they can’t do that and stay inside the top four. If they go behind, Thistle don’t have the capacity to come back and win. The Tigers are cruising along nicely and will be short-priced favourites. Prediction: Easts 4-1 Mitchelton vs Rochedale Rovers Saturday 6pm at Teralba Park Mitchelton may have given up first place on the ladder but with a game in hand are still favourites to win the title. That will change if they don’t win this game after losing to Easts last time out but this season is going to go down to the wire. Playing at Teralba Park will be to their advantage and they could easily skip away to an early lead. Amazingly, anything but a win could see them drop out of the top four. Rochedale Rovers are on a massive high having confidently disposed of the Brisbane Strikers and climbing to the top of the table with their 4-1 disposal of Albany Creek. Both those games were at Underwood Park of course, and a difficult trip North awaits them. Confidence is a difficult thing to master but Rovers have it in spades at the moment. It doesn’t get more important than this. First vs second and easily the game of the round, so much relies on the outcome that it could all come down to mental strength. Prediction: Rochedale 3-1 Capalaba vs Ipswich Knights Sunday 4pm at John Fredericks Park Capalaba may have changed the outcome of their season last weekend when they were facing down another defeat but dragged themselves back from 3-1 and drew 3-3 with Peninsula. The week before they would have gone on to lose by half a dozen. The return to the field of Geoff Hurford may have been the difference but as a team things are looking up. They could even drag themselves out of the relegation zone on Sunday. Ipswich Knights have plenty of problems with results being dire and, even worse, opposition teams banging home plenty of goals. Defence has been a problem for a long time and until that is sorted out things aren’t likely to get better. But they have the ability to beat anyone if they can get their tempo and passing game going with just a bit of luck to get them over the line. Despite their lowly positions on the table, this should be an enthusiastic contest with potential relegation to play for. Prediction: Capalaba 2-1

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