The Dragons are in the last playoff spot after an up and down performance against Innisfail in Cairns on Friday night.

A great first half performance from the Dragons turned into a disastrous second half but the Dragons were able to regain their composure after blowing a three-goal lead to secure the victory late on.

The Dragons started the match brightly going close a couple of times in the early exchanges before Matty Smith pounced on an error to calmly slot through the keepers legs.

As has been the case all season though the Dragons were unable to protect their lead and were pegged back almost immediately when Ben Syrett turned the ball past his own keeper to make the score 1-1. From this point on the Dragons were dominant in the first spell carving out a number of chances with excellent link up play across the park.

A second Smith goal after another mix up in the Innisfail defence, Conor Lemon’s first for the club and Daniel Houghton’s goal with his second touch after coming off the bench had the Dragons in complete control as the half time whistle blew. The message at the break was simple, absorb any early pressure that Innisfail managed to come up with and make sure the Dragons were the next team to score.

Unfortunately this message was not translated into a performance on the pitch as Innisfail pressured the Dragons into mistake after mistake with their high pressing.

Innisfail were on top for the while first half hour of the second period and got back to 4-4 with about fifteen minutes to go. They were also unlucky not to score further goals, hitting the post with a header and having another effort cleared off the line. Finally the Dragons managed to muster some form of response with the scores locked. Logan Marsh should have done better but put his free header wide while Max Taylor could have also won the game but could only slice wide from close range.

With time running out Conor Lemon popped up to save the Dragons blushes with his second headed goal of the game, looping the ball over the Innisfail keeper from Adriano Gualtieri’s excellent cross.

Lemon’s two goals were enough to secure the victory for the Dragons and the Man of the Match award on the night. Next up for the Dragons is a trip to second placed Marlin Coast on Friday night.