| AA2 - Fifth Grade Men : Match Report |
| BACK |
| Dunbar AA2 - Fifth Grade Men: 4 - Locomotive Cove 3 |
| Yes it's true - Dave Maye cocked a goal |
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| 26 July 15:00 |
| League game |
| Scorers: |
Steve Anderton
Dave Mayne
Gerard Connolly
Own goal |
Lokomotiv Cove 3 - Dunbar Rovers 4
Dunbar AA2's got back to winning ways with a hard fought win against bottom side Lokomotiv Cove at Tempe. The late kick off played havoc with Ali's eating plans and he was more agitated than usual prior to kick off. Dunbar were missing a few players including captain Cam, Pete and the recently departed Gibbsy. Despite the absentees, manager Kev Nichol was able to name a strong side with Withers in goal, Kev, Reg, Ali and Barney across the back, Granty, Tony, Fintan and Stevie in midfield. Ryan partnered Ash up front with Keith and Dave Mayne on the bench.
Dunbar started brightly and had Cove on the back foot from the off. Fintan and Tony were getting plenty of joy in the middle of the park and spreading the play well to get Granty and Stevie involved. Cove were very nervous at the back and leaving big gaps in the middle for Ash and Ryan to exploit. Despite this pressure it was Cove that broke the deadlock after ten minutes. A throw in from the right hand side caused havoc in the Dunbar defence, allowing the Lokomotiv no 7 to get space in the box. Reg blocked the initial shot but the ball went back to the Lokomotiv striker and he needed no second invitation to open the scoring. A goal against the run of play but time was on Dunbar's side.
Dunbar regrouped and continued to put Cove on the back foot. After some brilliant work by Barney, Stevie and Dave Mayne on the left, Stevie whipped in a smashing low cross but Ryan's effort was saved well by the keeper. Ryan picked himself up to take the resulting corner and whipped in a ball that caused the Cove defence all sorts of problems. Stevie hit the crossbar with a header and in the scramble the ball fell to Reg who smashed a header into the back of the net. His second goal of the season with a combined total of 3 yards.
This gave Dunbar the lift they needed and the confidence was back. Granty and Kev were linking well on the right with Barney and Steve doing likewise on the opposite flank. Dunbar were creating some great chances with Ash's pace causing the Cove defence a lot of problems. Ryan had a couple of great chances to get Dunbar the lead but his recent weight loss seems to have affected his sharpness. Ash had a shot that flew over the bar and Fintan made some good breaks into the box but was closed down as he went to shoot on each occasion.
Dunbar did take the lead shortly before half time when the ball was squared across the box by someone and Stevie smashed the ball home. He did his best to miss it but the ball flew in off the crossbar. Two - one to Dunbar at the half and no more than they deserved. The gaffer kept the half time team talk brief but warned everyone to keep our heads and not be complacent.
However, Dunbar didn't heed their experienced gaffer's advice and Cove levelled the game shortly after the break. A long ball over the Dunbar defence, allowed the Cove striker to sneak in and slot the ball past the onrushing Dave Withers. A bad goal to concede but there was still plenty of time on the clock.
Dunbar regained the lead shortly afterwards when one of the Cove defenders put the ball past his own keeper following a cross from Granty. A slice of luck for Dunbar but given the amount of own goals Cam has scored this season, it was nice to see it going in the other end for a change.
What happened next was one of those moments that we will tell our grandchildren about in years to come. Gather round kids and let me tell you about the day Dave Mayne scored a goal for Dunbar. Nobody works harder in a Dunbar shirt than Dave and he has been desperate for a goal all season. The fact that it went in off his cock is not important but he managed to bundle the ball home after the keeper had saved his initial shot from a Kev Nichol cross. Every member of the team mobbed the popular striker and it was the most celebrated goal of the season.
Four two to Dunbar and it should have been game over. However, Dunbar gave Cove a lifeline with ten minutes to play when some more sloppy defending allowed Cove to slot in their third. This set up a tense finish but Dunbar saw the game out thanks to wise old heads like Keith and Tony who held the ball up well in the final ten minutes.
The game finished four three to Dunbar and a well deserved win. It wasn't always pretty but Dunbar played some great football at times. Two home games left at The Reg for the AA2's and gaffer Kev Nichol is demanding a strong finish to the season for his team. First up though is the Dunbar table quiz on Thursday night when Ali's Bed sheets will be taking on Intimately Beckham in the battle of the AA2's brainiacs.
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