Prems v Waverley – Saturday 1 July @Moore Park 7pm~
On a cold Saturday night the Dunbar boys faced one of the toughest tests of the season, Waverley. The previous encounters between the two teams this season have been fiery affairs, with Dunbar coming away with the victory in the first game and a 3-3 draw in the second.
With a full squad to pick from, Burndog went with the same back line that had kept clean sheets in the last 4 games. Two changes in the midfield with Dale and Jake coming in for Aaron and Ollie and big scuba Steve returning up top after having ‘an absolute skinful’ in Vegas.
Wearing their retro kit and with Burney‘s tactics still ringing in their ears, Dunbar got off to what could only be called a slow start as Waverley came flying out of the blocks with quick breaks down the wings. The boys at the back have formed a great partnership over the past 5 games and dealt with everything that the opposition had to offer leaving ‘cheerful’ Charlie Fanner in goal with not much to do.
As Dunbar started to get a foothold in the game, the passing tightened up and we started to created chances of our own. The ever dangerous Dale, on the wing, unleashed what could be described as the strike of the season from about 25 yards which left the goal post rattling for about 5 minutes. The strike deserved more but it was a sign of the tide turning in our favour. No less than 10 minutes later a free kick floated into the Waverley box dropped kindly to Dunbar’s resident artist Nick Holton (hippoprints.com.au), who smashed in a one yard screamer into the roof of the net which even Timmy tap in would have been proud of. 1-0 Dunbar.
Half time came and all the boys had put in a serious shift to keep our noses ahead of the opposition. With no changes at half time, we were in for a tight second half.
The second half was a stark contrast to the first with the midfield lads dominating the middle of the park and the defensive line solid as ever. The Rovers boys upfront forced the opposition’s keeper into two or three world class saves but unfortunately couldn’t break through.
As the game clock ticked away Waverley were not without chances. Ed Sheeran up front was a particular handful but as the old cliché goes, he even couldn’t finish his dinner. Richard Maltby produced a Hulk Hogan esc clothesline from hell on their winger and was lucky to escape without a booking.
Into the last 10 minutes and Luke ‘dad bod’ Palmer decided to roll back the years and went on a few mazy runs, turning the Waverley defenders inside out but we still couldn’t add to the tally.
Final whistle and the Dunbar boys winning streak moved onto 6. A great second half performance after weathering the storm in the first half shows how far the team has come in the previous few weeks.
Special mention to Si Philby and Dale Howarth on the wings, who both put in serious shift offensively and defensively.
Final Score: 1 – 0 WIN to Dunbar