Tied match a sore point for Rovers

Sunday’s men’s soccer match at Collier Street between Manjimup Rovers and Bunbury United ended in a frustrating tie.

On kick off, Rovers were quiet and looked unsure, not attacking the ball or pressuring with enough urgency.

Early in the game, a Rovers’ defensive blunder and a swift counter attack on the wing resulted in a dangerous ball being played behind the Rovers’ defence into the box and then the net, which put Bunbury in front.

Rovers were unsettled by being forced to start chasing and it was not until the second half that the team managed to regroup and start working well together.

As communication picked up, the Rovers started creating lots of scoring opportunities, hitting the posts multiple times and having many near-misses but they remained unable to get on the scoreboard.

With 10 minutes to go, the Rovers were getting increasingly frustrated and desperate, when a bad clearance by the Bunbury keeper resulted in a thundering strike from Jason Savidge, who found the net, giving Rovers their much-needed equaliser.

The Rovers were hopeful of another and with a minute left, the Rovers thought they’d done it after a low cross from Ruslan Tokalenko found Tack Burns in the box, who put the ball into the net.

However, much to the team’s disappointment, Burns was ruled offside and the goal was not counted.

When the final whistle sounded, Bunbury was elated at having held the Rovers to a draw 1-1, and the Rovers left the pitch disappointed to have tied.

This weekend the Rovers play Hay Park away in what will prove to be a very important game for the Rovers.