DIFFERENT DAY, DIFFERENT VENUE, SAME RESULT

The talk pre-match at Lilys from the Brumbies faithful was that they had de-prioritised the FFA Cup this year, fielded a weakened side against us 10 days ago and half the team that was rested at Hensley would be playing in this game. Food for thought.

In the early exchanges, the game was played at an incredibly fast pace and within about 15 minutes, Brumbies became the first team to score a league goal against us, much to the delight of the extremely vocal home support. We anticipated that Brumbies would come out aggressively in an attempt to avenge the heavy FFA Cup defeat and they certainly didn’t disappoint in that respect. Tackles were flying in, as the Dunbar passing engine started to dominate possession and movement. Credit to our players who, despite being kicked from pillar to post for the entire first half never lost their cool. They continued to try to play football and were frustrating their opponents by how well they won the ball in challenges without even needing to commit a foul.

After about 30 minutes, Andrew Green deservedly equalised with a great strike, after some good work down the left hand side. Brumbies aggressive approach was resulting on an enormous number of yellow cards being issued. Not long after our equaliser, a Brumbies defender picked up his second yellow and farewelled the pitch, but no more scores were registered in the half, despite both sides attacking well. Half-time: 1-1 but advantage Dunbar because of the extra man.

The Brumbies Coach must have instructed his players that one more red card would be the death knell for his team, because the second half was a much less frenetic affair and the yellow cards allocation dropped off to an absolute minimum. Dunbar dominated possession and probably had the better attacks early in the second half but Brumbies looked dangerous on the break, despite being down to 10 men.

Just when the Hills defenders possibly thought they had our attack figured out, Dunbar Head Coach Will Cullen introduced Captain Robbie Deasy into the fray, after being out with injury for the previous 6 weeks. His cameo in the Under 20s was enough for Cullen to be given the green light by the physiotherapy department and sure enough, within minutes Deasy had put us ahead after a blistering attack down the right hand side. Welcome back Robbie – great to have you back…

At no point could we relax though, and a 10 man Brumbies outfit continued to be dangerous every time they went forward. Our defence held firm though and hardly put a foot wrong. In truth, keeper Stevie Deasy did not have a lot to do. Our Slovakian striker Rene Mrva scored an absolute beauty to put the result beyond doubt and then just before the final whistle, Robbie Deasy scored his second, this time attacking down the left.

Soon after the excellent female referee blew the final whistle and we left Lilys Football Centre after one of the most satisfying wins that the club has had for a number of years. Not many other clubs will leave there with 14 Club Championship points this season.

PS4 NPL MEN’S 3 – ROUND 3
Hills Brumbies 1-4 Dunbar Rovers
Lilys Football Centre, Seven Hills
Saturday, April 16th, 7:30pm kickoff

GOALS
Robbie Deasy(2), Andrew Green, Rene Mrva

LINEUP:
S.Deasy – Euripidou, Simpson, Smith©, Ezekiel – Doddy, Miller, Burke – Mrva, Green, Nicolosi.
Subs: R.Deasy for Nicolosi, Hems for Miller, Naoum for Burke. Swartz, Adamo (both unused).