Saturday afternoon the Rockingham Willow Bridge Cup side played Peel at Mandurah with frequent showers sweeping in. It was another dour contest, as they all have been over recent years with Peel and on this occasion Rockingham prevailing 1-nil.
Michael Nobbs made a brief return from India where he has been appointed the National Coach and coached for this game and his mere presence was able to lift the Redbacks after a 2 week layoff.
Rockingham started the better of the 2 sides and were able to put sustained pressure on Peel in the opening 10 minutes. Olly Bond caped this off with the only goal of the day with a tomahawk shot during this period. Peel fought back strongly in the later stages of the first half and if it weren’t for the match winning efforts from keeper Lachlan Mcdonald the result could have been a lot different.
The second half again Rockingham maintained the pressure on Peel but their defence held strong.
The game was played from end to end with McDonald called on many times to save shots on goal.
Also helping in defence were Brad Thompson & Brenton Smith who combined very well and stopped many of Peel attacks getting to the circle and were instrumental in starting most of the Redbacks sorties Into attach. Despite the weather conditions the game was played with great skill from both sides, with neither willing to give an inch. Rockingham did however over step the line near the end as players tired and put on some clumsy tackles, which left them with 2 players serving suspension at the same time.
The team rallied and fought on to maintain their slim lead to the end.
The win puts Rockingham 8 points clear of second placed Peel on the ladder and with Peel still have to have their bye.
Neville Ford
