North Star vs Easts - 1987 Brisbane Premier League Knock-out Semi-Final Highlights

The Brisbane Courier Mail described this sudden death semi-final as "one of the most entertaining games of season with Easts bowing out in fine style" in this 6 goal thriller at Perry Park.
Easts netted a sizzler after 16 minutes through Jim McDonagh who worked tirelessly to lead the Easts attack. North Star took until the 58th minute to find an equaliser through Paul Fagan who came on as substitute for Gordon Buchanan who fell heavily breaking his shoulder for the second time inside 10 weeks. Fagan scored a well timed header from a probing Steve Rowell cross. McDonagh scored his second after sensational run and shot past North Star stalwart, Noel Lord. Two minutes later, the evergreen Alan Marley found North Star's second equaliser chesting the ball home after a blistering Fagan shot came back of the crossbar his way.
With scores locked at 2-2 the sides entered 30 minutes extra time with North Star finishing the stronger on the back of a late season fitness campaign implemented by Assistant Coach, Jim Cameron.
In the 104th minute Phil Mulvey grabbed the lead for North Star for the first time in the match when he gathered a poor clearance just outside the box and turned neatly to thrash it through the tiring East defence. Substitute Jarrod Austin delivered the final blow to Easts finals campaign in 1987 when he latched on to a corner that found him near the edge of the penalty area and finished with an instinctive strike that no keeper on Earth could have stopped.
North Star marched on to meet Brisbane City in the Preliminary Final for the right to play Brisbane Lions in the championship decider. Much comment was made in the press about North Star not playing a match in daylight since they downed Lions mid-way through the season and how the heat would affect them. However, more significantly both teams had key players ruled out through injury - for North Star, two of its Queensland representatives in David Gallagher (shoulder), Gordon Buchanan (shoulder), for City, Queensland representative Noel Greenhalgh (groin).
City ultimately put North Star to the sword in dominant fashion (6-2) and rolled on the meet Lions in the Final. City would finish behind Lions in 1987 but win the Premiership from North Star in 1988. North Star would turn the tables beating City in the 1988 Grand Final.

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Sports

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• North Star
• Brisbane Premier League
• Football
• Buchanan