South Bunbury have defeated Busselton at a water-logged Sir Stewart Bovell Park, in the opening game of round seventeen of the Dale Alcock Homes South West, SWFL premiership season.
Eighty millimetres of rain fell in Busselton in the 24 hours to 9am Saturday, leaving Bovell Park looking like an aquatic centre, with large portions of the oval and car park submerged. Steady rain fell during the Colts and Reserves matches, as the oval then turned to mud, making scoring incredibly difficult.
It was a crucial clash, particularly for Busselton who needed to win to keep their finals chances alive, but it would be the Tigers who would score first through Richie Bourne, who slotted a nice goal deep in the forward pocket. Blaine Johnson kicked the red and whites second goal from the goal line, and when Ben Horsman goaled late in the term, the visitors had opened up a very handy 18 point lead at quarter time.
Jed Kemp dives for the football which is in there somewhere!The rain intensified in the second term, with scoring non existent, as the ball went from puddle to puddle. Eventually an opening developed and Dylan Patterson kicked a set shot from deep in the pocket, giving the Magpies their first goal and narrowed the margin to twelve points at half time.
Jace Cormack extending that lead in the third term courtesy of a 50m penalty at the seventeen minute mark, and when Blaine Johnson snapped his second, the margin was at a game high 24 points, which was always going to be difficult to peg back in the conditions. Deep in time on Jed Kemp kicked the first goal of the match at the City end, with a clever snap, giving the home side a glimmer of hope.
The final quarter was much like the second and third, with scoring almost impossible, with Kade Wallrodt showing off his soccer skills to kick the only goal of the final term, giving South Bunbury a four goal victory.
Playing well in the conditions was never going to be easy, and some players were barely recognisable at the end of the match. Kade Wallrodt and William Pedley were amongst the best for the Tigers, while Josh Fleming and Perry Francis played well for Busselton.
South Bunbury will host Bunbury next Sunday at Hands Oval in a top of the table clash, while Busselton will travel to Boyanup Oval to take on Donnybrook, in what is effectively and Elimination Final for Busselton to keep their season alive.
Match Centre
South Bunbury 3.2.20 3.3.21 5.3.33 6.4.40
Busselton 0.2.2 1.3.9 2.3.15 2.4.16
Goals: South Bunbury – Blaine Johnson 2, Richard Bourne 1, Jace Cormack 1, Ben Horsman 1, Kade Wallrodt 1. Busselton – Jed Kemp 1, Dylan Patterson.
Best: South Bunbury – Kade Wallrodt, William Pedley, Richard Bourne, Jace Cormack, Jay Crossman, Brayden Jones. Busselton – Joshua Fleming, Perry Francis, Ethan Bowman, Mitchell Fraser, Aidan Austen, Ben Ganzer.
Ground: Sir Stewart Bovell Park
Umpires: Cameron Valenti, Braden Surrall, Talen Guthrie
Reports: Blaine Johnson reported by Field Umpire Braden Surrall for attempting to strike another player
Crowd: 590
Photos courtesy of Sharyn Newlands