Home game chance to recapture form

After a shock loss on the weekend, Caboolture FC men’s coach Nathan Walker says his side must improve their attitude if they are to get their season back on track.

While still sitting in second position on the Capital League 3 ladder with five games to go before the finals, the Snakes’ four wins from their last eight games points to a slump in form compared to the first half of 2017, when they lost just one of their first nine matches.

Taking on ninth-placed Slacks Creek in atrocious conditions on Saturday, a double from James Fairgrieve wasn’t enough as Lachlan Smith nailed a last-minute winner for the home side to down Caboolture 4-3.

“The boys just didn’t have enough heart on the weekend,” Walker said.

“Complacency definitely crept in taking on a lower placed team, and we switched off a bit because of that.

“The rain certainly didn’t help, given you could hardly pass the ball more than five metres without it stopping.

“We like to keep the ball on the deck and move it around pretty quickly so it was hard to play our natural game, but there’s no excuses because in the end we didn’t have the passion to win.”

The loss continues the side’s recent lack of consistency, losing consecutive matches in the Capital League but beating Brisbane Premier League side Ipswich Knights 3-1 in the Pig N’ Whistle Canale Cup two weeks ago.

“That’s the first time we’ve lost consecutive games in the last couple of years I’ve been with the club,” Walker said.

“I think we got a bit overconfident after beating Ipswich, and a few guys thought we’d go back to the regular league and win easily.

“It’s just about getting back to basics and sticking to our structures as a team rather than playing as individuals.

“Missed chances is another big factor at the moment. If we’d taken them on Saturday we would’ve won easily but we’re just not finding the back of the net.”

Taking on fifth-placed Newmarket at home this weekend, a win is vital for Caboolture to hold onto second on the ladder, with AC Carina just two points behind.

“Carina’s game was called off on the weekend, so if they played and won we would’ve dropped to third,” Walker said.

“It’s still a good position to be in, but we really want to get back to the form we had at the start of the season, which we’ll need against Newmarket, who we drew three-all with last time.”

The Caboolture reserve grade side continued their outstanding form on the weekend, disposing of Slacks Creek 8-1 and bringing their goal tally to 23 from their last four matches, maintaining their lead over the rest of the competition with just one loss all season.

Still with a game in hand over second-placed Carina, a win over Newmarket on Saturday would nearly guarantee the minor premiership.

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