Dunsborough 3 beat Australind 2

The Dunsborough Towners consolidated their spot in third place on the Premier Reserve league ladder with a hard fought 3-2 victory over Australind at the Dunsborough Recreation Oval on Saturday.

They are now only two points behind Australind at the half-way mark of the season with the ambition to fill at least second place by the end of the season.

Dunsborough 3 beat Australind 2

The Dunsborough Towners consolidated their spot in third place on the Premier Reserve league ladder with a hard fought 3-2 victory over Australind at the Dunsborough Recreation Oval on Saturday.

They are now only two points behind Australind at the half-way mark of the season with the ambition to fill at least second place by the end of the season.

Australind fielded one of the youngest combinations in the competition displaying a high degree of team work allied to pace that tested the experienced line-up the Towners.

Dunsborough found youngsters like Ben Jay, Michael Ninness and Nathan King a real handful to contain and Ninness came close to scoring in the 11th minute following clever work from King.

The Towners concerns were eased in the 18th minute when Lukas Diwersy ran on to a throw-in, ghosted round the left flank of Australind’s defence to square a pass to Joe Pregelj who nudged home inside the far post.

Then in the 35th minute a neat piece of team work down the right wing ended with a pass finding Diwersy inside the penalty area who then sent his marker one way turned the other and guided the ball home.

Dunsborough should have been further ahead in the 40th minute when 13 year old substitute Sam Holt sold a dummy to the Australind defence in the penalty area and while moving into a shooting position was hooked down.

Incredibly the referee waved away appeals for a penalty despite beiong perfectly placed to see the incident.

Australind wasted no time in launching a counter-offensive at the start of the second-half and within one minute a speedy movement down the right caught the Towners defence flat-footed with Josh Harvey producing a clinical finish.

With the return of ”man of the match” Niel Muckles, to the side after five weeks away because of work commitments, Dunsborough weathered a ten minute Australind onslaught that threatened to sideline the Towners ambitions.

It was a piece of Pregelj magic down the left followed by a perfectly placed cross that was headed home by Mick Finney in the 63rd minute that once again provided a comfort buffer to the home side.

When emerging young goalkeeper Cohen Sinclair misjudged a high long ball, using the assistance of a strong breeze, bounced over his head into the net it took the guile of Muckles and the calmness of full-back Brent Hillyard to repel any suggestion of a late collapse.
Dunsborough Line-up

Cohen Sadlier, Brent Hillyard, Doug Horsford, Martyn Mulley, Lukas Diwersy, Tony Plumb, Mark Ferguson, Troy Lanigan, Joe Pregelj, Mick Finney, Craig Agar. Substitutes: Sam Holt, Steve Palmer, Niel Mckles, Nick Hartwell, Craig Ryan, Aiden Greig.

Goalscorers: Joe Pregelj, Lukas Diwersy, Mick Finney.
Man of the match:  Niel Muckles