The late season revival in the FFNC Premier League for Maclean Bowling Club Bobcats finally came to an end with a 3-0 loss to Richmond Rovers on the weekend, their first loss in five weeks.
The news was much better in the Championship encounter with the Bobcats upsetting semi-final bound Rovers 1-0 with a spirited display.
In the Premier League match Rovers direct play with instantly turning the Bobcats around in defence with balls over the top of the back four proving hard to contain. Rover were rewarded on the 10 minute mark when one of those balls led to a player being bundled over in the box that lead to a penalty. Keeper Alex Moffitt went the right way but the firmly struck shot was too hot to save and Rovers were ahead 1-0. Midway through the half a well worked team goal saw Rovers double their advantage. The Bobcats rallied for the rest of the half and the teams went to the break with Rovers two goals to the good.
Ten minutes into the second half the contest was affectively over when Rovers scored their second goal from the penalty spot to take the score to 3-0. The remainder of the half proved lacklustre from both teams and the score would remain that way until the fulltime whistle that has enabled Rovers to secure a top two finish at least.
In the Championship match the youthful Bobcat line up celebrated their first win of the season with a gutsy 1-0 defeat of the highly rated Rover’s opponents. Striker Harvey McEwen showed a predators finish when he burst onto a Will Menzies slide rule pass that proved the difference between the two teams. However, it was a back to the wall defence display for the final 20 minutes that was a catalyst for the win.
It almost doesn’t seem right to single out a player as man of the match such was the effort from every player on the park, but Duncan Fischer was enormous defensively and was unbeatable all day and often triggered the Bobcats counter attacks as well.
Nest weekend the Bobcats travel to Lismore to take on Thistles. The Premier League are consigned to a mid-table finish just out of the reduced semi-final series. The Championship side have it all to play for as a win will lift them off the bottom of the ladder.