A change in style has helped Dubbo FC return to the summit of local soccer.
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The Bulls suffered heartbreak in 2015 when they dominated the first grade competition before losing the grand final to Orana Spurs.
But they wouldn’t make the same mistake twice and on Sunday Dubbo FC won both the first and second grade grand finals.
Jason Schink, first grade coach, said the motivation from last year’s loss and a more direct playing style helped his side claim a dominant 4-1 victory over Macquarie United.
“Last year the boys were backed really strong to win it and this year was sort of the same with many expecting us to win it but we didn’t want to give them a sniff and at full time it was a bit of a relief for a few of the boys,” he said, before speaking about the match itself.
“It was a cracker, we’ve changed out tactics and men and played a bit more direct.
“In the past we’d tried to play, I guess, a bit more of the beautiful game but we thought playing a bit more direct would work better.”
Schink said a lot of his side’s gameplan revolved around dragging Macquarie’s outstanding centre back and captain Stephen Howlett out of position to create space for the likes of attacking trio Gareth Williams, Alex Richardson-Bell and Kobe Rapley.
..at full time it was a bit of a relief for a few of the boys.
- Jason Schink
While attacking players are so often the key, Schink said Howlett and goalkeeper Josh Tibbins were two of the biggest obstacles standing in his side’s way.
The Bulls fans didn’t have to feel nervous for too long as Richardson-Bell scored a quickfire double to give his side all the momentum.
Schink took much delight in seeing a number of second-graders, fresh from their thrilling penalty shootout win over Macquarie in second grade, back up for firsts and second half strikes from Brodie Austin and Nelson Flick sandwiched a Macquarie consolation goal to seal the title.
The win restored the Bulls’ reputation as the powerhouse of the local round ball game and Schink said his club is well placed to continue performing well into the future.
“We’ve lost a lot of good first-graders over the years but we’ve got guys like Alex Richardson-Bell and others who are around 21 so as long as they stick around we should keep playing well,” he said.
The Bulls also won second grade but in far closer circumstances, with a dramatic shootout needed the separate them and Macquarie.
The two sides couldn’t be split during the 90 minutes and extra-time but the Bulls prevailed in a lengthy shootout that finished 6-5.
In the All-Age Men’s Division 1 the South Dubbo Wanderers defeated the North West Falcons 1-0 but the Falcons had reason to cheer in Division 2 following a 3-2 grand final win over Macquarie.
Macquarie United featured in four grand finals but was left disappointed and went home empty-handed following RSL 78s 2-0 win in the All-Age Women’s Division 1 decider while in Division 2 it was EDU scoring a 1-0 win over the North West Falcons.