Busselton came to town on a mission seeking to right wrongs and thirsting to avenge their first loss of the season when the Dunsborough Towners beat them in the first round of the South West League Cup on penalties in Dunsborough the previous week.

They came with all guns blazing and within 15 minutes had scored three goals that ripped the heart out of the Towners and laid the foundation for a strong 4-1 win in a Premier League competition encounter at the Dunsborough Recreation Oval on Sunday.

On this occasion the best team won, though in fairness it has to be emphasised that the Towners were without six of their regular first team players.

Missing, for various reasons were midfielders Niel Muckles and Steve Palmer, strikers Richard Olsen and Joe Pregelj, goalkeeper Craig Ryan and captain and defender Cid Richards.

Richards was a late withdrawal from Saturday’s game having injured his foot in an industrial accident, and his absence was a serious blow to the defensive shape of the side.

But this should not take away from the quality of the team that Busselton fielded and the lead that was established in early in the game was no more than they deserved.

All three goals were scored deep in Dunsborough’s penalty area with an unmarked Robbie Seia starting the rot in the second minute followed by two goals from tall defender Joel Grainger in the 11th and 14th minutes.

It was during this period of play that sweeper Terry McBride made a remarkable save when going the wrong way to a shot that was destined for the back of the net he somehow hooked his legs behind him while horizontal to the ground and connected with the ball sending it over the bar for a corner.

There was every indication that the floodgates had opened and Dunsborough were facing a serious hiding, but the ship steadied in the 22nd minute when a corner by Graeme Copeman was headed home on the far post by Lukas Diwersy.

The hope of a comeback was once again snuffed out in the 26th minute when Robbie Seia, arguably the best striker in the league, accepted a neat through pass from Ianto Ward to guide the ball home from close range.

To Dunsborough’s credit they stopped the rot and can take consolation that after the initial onslaught they could claim a 1-1 draw and had more than a fair share of the second-half.

However, Busselton could also claim they should have scored twice from simple chances when an unmarked Tristan Carroll somehow ballooned a the ball over the bar from point blank range in the 25th minute and missed a free header on the edge of the six yard box in the 68th minute.

The second-half witnessed a more committed Dunsborough though the edge in attack continued to go missing with John Joyce, Holt and Copeman close to adding repectability to the score-line.

When re-arranging his line-up during the second-half coach Geoff Holt switched Kieran Smith from attack to left-back and bought himself on up front.

Smith was instrumental in keeping Busselton’s right-wing attacking moves under control and earned him the “man of the match” award.

The Towners were denied an obvious penalty in the 77th minute but got one in the 82nd only for a weak attempt by Diwersy allowing goalkeeper Callum McCulkin to save easily.

After the match Dunsborough’s coach Geoff Holt was scathing of his team’s start stating that everyone seemed to be recovering from a bad night out.

“Our defending was poor, the midfield time and again didn’t track back when we lost possession and we allowed the opposition far too much room in the box,” said Holt.

“We had a better second-half and I thought we shaded Busselton in this period, but in reality the damage had been done”.


Dunsborough”s line-up:

Josh Watt, Terry McBride, Jake Thompson, Clint Thompson, Dion Schildmann, Stuart Gidley, Graeme Copeman, Sebastian Kovacs, Lukas Diwersy, Kieran Smith, John Joyce. Substitutes: Geoff Holt, Joe Peachey, Jake Smith, Mark Ferguson.

Goalscorer: Lukas Diwersy.

Man of the Match: Kieran Smith