Forced to make do and with the barest of resources the Dunsborough Towners pulled off a major upset beating Bunbury United 3-2 under a hot sun in a Premier League encounter at the Soccerdrome in Bunbury on Sunday.

For both sides it was a case of long weekend holiday blues with players missing for various reasons and Dunsborough having to rely on a three-man substitutes bench that had already played in a tough reserves game.

It was a tale of guts and determination by every player allied to moments of excellent teamwork that provided the answer to Bunbury’s normal dominant hold over the Towners.

With the match only two minutes old the Towners stunned Bunbury when converted striker Graeme Copeman, with a devastating burst of speed, outpaced his opponent and cleverly chipped goalkeeper Mark Kavanagh.
 
Stung, Bunbury launched a series of attacks that tested Dunsborough resolve with sweeper Terry McBride rising superbly to the challenge with outstanding support from “man of the match” Dion Schildmann and Kieran Smith.
 
Young Josh Watt again made a mockery of his inexperience with another superb goalkeeping display making a handful of saves that would have graced the CV of the best.

One unbelievable save in the 21st minute frustrated Paddy Roberts before it was the turn of Dunsborough player-coach Geoff Holt to curse the crossbar that denied his 30
metre drive.

Dunsborough then had to weather a wave of Bunbury attacks in the final 15 minutes of the half with a number of chances falling to them, especially Paddy Roberts whose danger is well known to the Towners.

It was Roberts who should have equalised in the 44th minute when a quick movement scythed through the Dunsborough defence only for Roberts to blaze a shot straight at Watt.

It was a more positive Dunsborough who took the game to Bunbury in the second-half but found the game thrown into the melting pot in the 57th minute with a Bunbury equaliser.

Voin Garic, always a danger with his strength, rounded Dunsborough’s defence down the right before releasing a perfect cross to the back post that was headed home by Danny Arriss.

In the past Dunsborough might have collapsed at this setback but not on this occasion.

Six minutes later it was the blistering speed of Copeman, causing major concerns to Bunbury, which re-established the Towners lead when he raced through a stretched defence, powered through a courageous dive by Kavanagh to score into an empty net.

Copeman was instrumental eleven minutes later in playing a one-two with Jake Thompson, a far more effective force from midfield, to bypass Bunbury’s defence for Thompson to score off the post to provide the visitors with a comfortable buffer.

Kieran Smith came close to adding to the lead in the 86th minute with a jinking run that open up a sight on goal with his shot just curving away from the top right-hand angle of the goal with Kavanagh beaten.

Then Roberts had the chance in the 89th minute to peg back the lead from a superb cross from the left wing only for Watt to make a fine save.

A poor decision by the referee for a foul on the edge of the penalty area in extra time provided Bunbury with a fleeting lifeline when Roberts scored round the defensive wall leaving the Towners to resort to safety clearances to preserve the three points.

“The lads covered themselves in glory showing a lot of character to recover from the poor performance of the week before against Busselton,” said coach Geoff Holt after the game.
 
Dunsborough line-up:

Josh Watt, Kieran Smith, Dion Schildmann, Terry McBride, Jake Thompson, Geoff Holt, Stuart Gidley, Graeme Copeman, John Joyce, Jake Smith, Joe Peachey. Substitutes: Joe Pregelj, Richard Olsen, Brent Hillyard.

Goalscorers:  Graeme Copeman 2, Jake Thompson 1

Man of the Match:  Dion Schildmann.