ALTHOUGH they are out of finals contention this season, the second half surge by Shoalhaven United has turned a number of heads around the Shoalhaven Football competition.
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Alex Dicker’s team, which defeated Manyana 3-1 at Lyrebird Sports Park on Saturday, have now collected 13 points from a possible 18, in their past six matches.
During that stretch, they have defeated Sussex (2-nil), Huskisson-Vincentia (2-1), Shoalhaven Heads-Berry (4-1) and Manyana, drew with Illaroo (1-all) and only lost to the second-placed Gerringong Breakers (2-nil).
“When I took over at the start of the year, I made a big change on the style of play the club was playing last year and I knew it would take some time for the players to adjust,” Bears coach Alex Dicker said.
“Full credit to the players, because they have all bought into the system and can see exactly what we are trying to achieve as a team.
“They can all see the benefits of this style and are starting to thrive in it, which can explain our recent run of strong form.
“I just wish the season ran a little longer, because each week we seem to improve from the week before.”
In Saturday’s win, the Bears goals were score by Matt Lewis, Luke Kellett and Shane Button, while Jackson Daley scored for the Wanderers.
They can all see the benefits of this style and are starting to thrive in it
- Alex Dicker
“We took a while to get out of the gate on Saturday and found ourselves behind 1-nil,” Dicker said.
“But once we settled, we started to knock the ball around and deservedly went up 2-1.
“From there, it could have gone either way, but exceptional saves from our goalkeeper James Spackman kept our lead before we iced the game late with our third goal.”
In the win, Dicker highlighted the play of his midfielders Tim Bagnall, Matt Lewis and Shaun Aldous, as well as man of the match Jaxon Forrester.
The match also saw 16-year-old Isaac Quirque make his debut, with 50 per cent of 14 players who took the field for the Bears on Saturday being 18 or younger.
“With so many young players in my squad – the majority being United juniors – it’s an exciting time at the club and the future looks very bright for us,” Dicker said.
“Hopefully we can continue our strong form in our final two games of the season and create a solid platform ahead of the 2019 season.”
Elsewhere, an under-strength Bomaderry outfit kept their unbeaten season going, grinding out a tough 1-nil win against Milton-Ulladulla.
The difference between the two sides at Bomaderry Oval was Brendan Kellett, who continued his outstanding goal scoring season.
At the Huskisson Sporting Fields, the Seagulls were forced to share the points with the Breakers, with the match ending 1-all after the 90 minutes.
The hosts’ goal was scored by Lewis Archibald, while Josh Maranesi scored for Gerringong.
This result sees Huskisson-Vincenita fall five points behind both Gerringong and Culburra in the race for an all important top-two spot, with just two rounds remaining.
Paul Cubbo’s St Georges Basin moved into fifth spot on the ladder, thanks to a gutsy 1-nil win against Shoalhaven Heads-Berry.
At the St Georges Basin Sporting Complex, Connor MacQueen scored the winner for the Dragons.
The final match, played at the Thompson Street Sporting Complex, saw Sussex and Illaroo draw 1-all, with Kyle Jarrett and Josh Woods scoring the team’s respective goals.
Culburra had the bye.