Bulls charge home late to draw with Comets
IF the first reviews of Southside Comets’ road trip to Mareeba United are anything to go by, it’s that both teams will be in the mix for the top four come October.
The first men’s Premier League contest of the new season ended in a 2-2 draw, with the Comets dominating the first hour before the Bulls came charging back.
A sin bin and send-off for
Comets captain Dylan Soares spoiled what should have been a good night for the midfielder after he slotted a key goal to hand his side a 2-0 lead.
Mareeba pegged two back in the final half-hour and threatened to clinch a winner before the whistle sounded.
Comets coach Chris Collins said all three sides — Southside, Mareeba and the officials — were rusty in their first games back for the truncated season, and while he was disappointed to drop a few points he was happy to escape Lindsay Australia Stadium with at least a draw.
“It was a good game, good intensity. but everyone was rusty and you just have to deal with that,” Collins said.
“I’m not unhappy with the result. At halftime the talk was to keep it going and we did that for a bit.
“But Mareeba, they’re going to be difficult to beat up there as the season goes on.”
The worst-kept secret in football was confirmed when former A-League player Wayne Srhoj took the field in orange for his first game in years, and the ex-Perth Glory midfielder will be a vital cog in the Mareeba machine.
But Bulls coach Angelo Tatti was more interested in how the entire playing group took the early beating from Southside, got off the canvas and finished strongly to salvage the point at home.
“It was well-deserved for both teams I think. We came back from 2-0 down and could’ve stolen it in the last 10 minutes,” Tatti said.
“The boys showed a lot of character to come back.
“It was a team effort to get there.”
In the other games, Innisfail United opened their season with a 3-0 win against Marlin Coast, while a 10-man Stratford held on to draw 1-1 with Leichhardt.