Bulldogs’ run over as Broadbeach fire
THE weaknesses in Burleigh Heads’ Gold Coast Premier League armour have finally appeared after Broadbeach United re-entered the title race in emphatic fashion at Nikiforides Park on Saturday.
Largely untroubled en route to seven-straight wins to start 2018, Burleigh were brought undone by a secondhalf onslaught from thirdplaced Broadbeach to fall 3-0.
Striker Luke Marsh was the architect of the home side’s win, opening the scoring after the break before laying on the second for Tomoki Asakawa.
Asakawa’s midfield partner, Justin Watmough, then delivered the coup de grace with the final goal.
The victory erased the disappointment of the Dolphins’ Round 7 loss to battling Murwillumbah, moving them within three points of the competition lead and one adrift of the Gold Coast Knights.
“If we hadn’t picked up the three points we would have been out of the title race,” Broadbeach coach Lee Vernon, whose side will travel to Surfers Paradise on Sunday, said.
“It was a really good performance. First half was pretty cagey … but we were pretty
dominant in the second half.
“It was important we bounced back after dropping points last weekend. We didn’t play well (against Murwillumbah) and the chances we did have we didn’t stick them away so our season was sort of on the line (on Saturday). “I was really, really happy with the way the lads put the game to bed in the second half. I still think the Knights are heavy favourites (for the title) and Burleigh have proven they can beat anyone on their day.”
Burleigh coach Colin Phelan conceded his troops had been “bullied at times”, with next week’s top-of-the-table encounter with the Knights to give them a chance to return to form.
“How we bounce back from this (loss) will probably determine how far we’re going to go. At the end of the day, if you finish above Broady in this league you’ve probably got a good chance of being there or thereabouts,” Phelan said.
“Next week is probably the type of game we need to be honest, it’s a massive game, it’s one v two and we’re happy to be in that position.”
In other Round 8 results, Palm Beach snapped a fourgame losing streak with a 4-1 win over Tweed United on Friday and Surfers Paradise hammered Mudgeeraba 6-2 on Saturday.
Yesterday, Coomera beat Nerang 3-1 while the Gold Coast Knights progressed to the FFA Cup’s Round of 32 with a thrilling 3-2 extra time win away to Sunshine Coast Fire.