Western Premier League 2023: Dubbo Bulls defeated Macquarie United 2-1

Taking on local rivals Macquarie United on Saturday, Bulls were too good at Apex Oval, winning 2-1 for their first victory of the season.

Goals to Alex Richardson-Bell and Gareth Williams were enough to get three points, a win which keeps them in touch with the top four.

Bulls coach Scott Fox and assistant Tim McLachlan have been guiding the new-look side this season, believing there have been a lot of positives through the opening month of play.

However, for McLachlan he admitted there was some relief around the squad after Saturday's result.

"It was good to get that first win of the season, hopefully, we can start to build on that now going forward," he said.

"We had a couple of draws over the last couple of weeks but now we've got a bit of momentum which is nice."

Bulls opened the scoring through Richardson-Bell before captain Williams got on the board also, to lead 2-0 at halftime.

READ ALSO:

United hit back late in proceedings, scoring with only a handful of minutes remaining which caused some nerves in the Bulls camp but the group held on.

Now with a win, three draws and a loss so far this season, McLachlan admitted their slow start isn't uncommon.

"For us, we always seem to start slow whether it's in the game or during the season," he said.

"We've been doing a few things at training and our talks before the game were really about getting us progressing.

"'Foxy' (Fox) and I have been just trying to get the boys to improve each week from their last performance.

"We are working on the things we do well and almost self-critiquing on where we can get better."

Matt Parish and Jake Veech were solid at the back for Bulls, with McLachlan confident the club is a great place with their depth.

"We've got a couple of veterans thrown into the mix to help out the boys," he said.

"We had a few boys out for different reasons, the ability and depth in our squad is one of our strengths.

"We've got a lot of older boys in the team and that youth as well."

Meanwhile, Spurs lost their match against Panorama 3-0 at Apex Oval also.

A late red card to both sides for an on-field altercation forced the clubs to change their approach but Panorama managed to get one over Spurs once again.

All three Dubbo sides will enjoy the week off with the bye, only Waratahs and Parkes will play.

Apex Oval will host another triple-header on May 27 with Bathurst 75, Barnestoneworth and Parkes all in town.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: