Busselton Crush Blues

By Ian Marley 18/7/2010

South Western Times Premier League leaders Busselton proved why they are the favourites to take out the title when they smashed then second placed Australind 5-1 at the weekend. Despite going one goal down early, Busselton over-ran the visitors and further cemented their place at the top of the table.

Australind began the game as the underdogs, missing several key players, but still managed to hit the lead in only the 2nd minute of the game. Following a through ball from Josh Harvey, Matthew McTaminey race forward and powered an unstoppable strike into the back of the net. The goal was McTaminey's 10th in only 9 games and gave Australind hope for a unlikely upset.

Heartened by the success the visitors continued to push forward, looking to score again. Solid work on the left from Matthew McTaminey and dominate midfield play from Shane McGirr set Australind up with many opportunities, Chris Norminton going close on more than one occasion. Only the efforts from Busselton defenders Ben Greaves, Deon Homer, Joel Grainger and keeper Cohen Sadler kept the home side in touch.

The first major chance for Busselton came when pacey striker Rob Seia found himself one-on-one with Australind keeper Marley. In a strong challenge Seia was brought to the ground, but appeals for a penalty were waved away by the referee.

Busselton did eventually get their equalizer through Tristan Carroll in the 36th minute. Following a free kick, Red's tall-man Danny Keogh was able to head the ball down to Carroll who controlled the ball, before measuring a delicate lob over the onrushing keeper for 1-1.

Minutes later Busselton took to lead, again through Danny Keogh. Rising up to a high corner, Keogh nodded the ball down to midfielder Gareth Grainger who strongly headed home. The goal deflated Australind's enthusiasm and gave the home-side a 2-1 advantage leading into the half time break.

HALF TIME: BUSSELTON 2 - AUSTRALIND 1

Busselton flew out of the blocks in the second half, extending their lead to 3-1 only 1 minute after the restart. An initial effort on goal by Seia was half blocked by the Australind defence, sending the keeper the wrong way, allowing Danny Keogh to fire a lethal effort high into the Australind net.

The half continued in the same fashion with Busselton pushing for more goals, but only brave and resilient defending from the likes of Exeter, Alvaro, Buckley and inspirational captain Brett Colombera saved the Blues from further embarrassment. The Red's often found themselves behind the defence but where unable to capitalise.

All the pressure did eventually pay off for Busselton when they grabbed their fourth in the 62nd minute. Getting out wide the experienced Gary Mayers played a audacious low ball across the goal where Rob Seia was waiting to place the ball in for 4-1.

As the game looked to be gone, Australind pushed forward in an effort to salvage the game. Chris Norminton went close to scoring, striking against the crossbar twice while Michael Exeter forced a sharp save from keeper Cohen Sadler. Nathan McCarthy worked tirelessly in the middle, as did Josh Harvey, but the effort were fruitless.

In the dying stages Busselton hit home their fifth goal of the game, the fourth time they have scored five or more times in only 8 league fixtures. In a scramble inside the 18 yard box Danny Keogh managed an effort on goal, scoring his 7th goal of the league season.

The loss sees Australind slip to third in the league table, two points behind Bunbury Dynamos who have played an extra game. In other results reserves battled out 2-2 draw with Busselton while thirds rose to a 6-1 victory.

ROUND SUMMARY

Eaton Town		-		Bye
Margaret River	2	-	4	Bunbury Dynamos
Busselton	5	-	1	Australind
Bunbury United	5	-	0	Dalyellup
Hay Park	1	-	2	Collie