Bobcats win in a tense encounter

Bobcat Brodon Hirst led the way against Boambee on Sunday.

Brendan Ray

THE Maclean Bobcats have boosted their chances of defending their premiership after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Boambee Bombers at the Maclean Showground on Sunday.

The win sees Maclean finish in third position at the end of the regular season and now have a home semi-final to look forward to next weekend against a resurgent Woolgoolga Wolves outfit.

The win also snuffed out Boambee’s premiership aspirations with the result seeing them drop from third to fifth and out of the finals completely.

With both teams throwing their seasons on the line the match was understandably a tense encounter.

Both teams were reluctant to press too far forward, opting for a more defensive approach, though with the wind at their backs the Bobcats managed to dominate territorial possession and keep the Boambee keeper busy, and he was forced to make a number of early saves from long range efforts and a string of fierce headers from Bobcats captain Kev Crofton.

It wasn’t until the 25-minute mark that the Bobcats broke through and settled some in-house nerves. A delicate dink through from Jesse Browning released Brodon Hirst who showed class and poise to chip the approaching Boambee keeper into the empty net. At this point Boambee were struggling to deal with a string of corners from the Bobcats and 10 minutes later Hirst rose highest to meet a Jarrod Doyle delivery to thump home a header to make it 2-0.

The bobcats would have been looking to take this seemingly comfortable lead into the break but in the shadow of half time mercurial Boambee striker Brady Parker was given too much space.

He thumped home from the edge of the area with his least preferred right foot to make it 2-1 and bring Boambee firmly back into the contest.

The second stanza was an extremely tense affair.

With the wind at their back Boambee came surging for the equaliser which would have stitched up third position on the table.

Only a few minutes in they were desperately unlucky to see a shot cannon off the woodwork and preserve the Bobcats’ slender 2-1 advantage.

The key moment came midway through the second half when free kick specialist Parker unleashed a stinging shot from 30 metres. Bobcat keeper Graeme Courte looked beaten for all money but a full length dive and a strong hand palmed the goal-bound shot around the post to safety. Courte made another fine save before full time as the Bobcats held on for a memorable and critical win to seal a home semi-final. Bobcats hope that Courte can continue his fine form into the semis where he will surely be well tested on many occasions. Two-goal hero Hirst and the ever reliable Travis Armstrong were among the other Bobcats standouts on the day. The Bobcats Youth Grade signed off with one of their best performances of the year beating second-placed Boambee 2-0.

A 30-metre thunderbolt from Riley Elvery opened the scoring and Matt Bryant netted the second goal after half time.

The result left the Bobcats Youth team agonisingly close to the semis but just outside.