Drought broken as Rebels dig deep

IT has been a tough slog for Rebels football this season, but at last the monkey is off their back.

On the back of 10 straight defeats in the Townsville Premier League season, the young underdogs fended off Wulguru United 1-0 to earn their first win of the campaign.

The lone goal came in untidy fashion, with a deflection off the opposition defence turning the tide, and rushing a wave of relief over the youthful Rebels contingent. However despite claiming the result, coach Bill Mitchell ( pictured) said the nature of the win typified their season, and their inability to capitalise on the scoring chances they create.

Strong go-forward from the likes of Matthew Mitchell and Ben Stewart provided opportunities to extend their lead, and Mitchell said they needed to show greater urgency in supporting those openings on and off the ball.

“It’s the same thing all year, we really need to work on scoring. We’ve had a few opportunities we should have capitalised on, we’ve been working on the last few weeks on scoring at training – we just need to continue in that vein,” he said.

“(It’s knowing) when they take the opportunity and getting people into the 18 yard box.” Mitchell said it was a win they had been building to with his focus on developing the up and coming players at the club starting to bear fruit.

They fought tooth and nail with Townsville Warriors in a 1-0 loss last week, while they also gave MA Olympic a scare in Round 8 – only going down 2-1 to the 2019 champions.

Mitchell said it was the time to establish a foundation that would carry the team to a more 2021 title tilt.

“I think with the group we’ve got, because they’re younger it can give them some confidence into next year,” he said. “They’ll be a year older, that’s the game at the moment – to finish the season off with positive results and build that confidence.”