There was no shortage of talking points that came out of Southern United’s 2-all draw with Port Saints in their Coastal Premier League Men’s fixture at the weekend.
Three red cards and up to six minutes of stoppage time later, the teams had to share the points at Boronia Park which both coaches were left satisfied about.
The Ospreys finished the match with nine players following the send-offs of Graham Pearson and Blake Harrison for two bookable offences.
Harrison’s cameo off the bench involved two yellow cards and a well-worked finish that put his side in front in the second half before he was given an early shower.
Bayden Schumann scored the hosts’ first goal.
“I thought it was a fair result in the end,” Southern coach Jonathan Newman said.
“In terms of missed chances we didn’t do ourselves any favours. We hit the post, we had a couple of chances on the line that were either scrambled away or the players they fell to just weren’t able to convert.
“I was happy to get the fixture done, but I was probably gnashing my teeth that we didn’t come away with all the points.
“I would have also thought Port Saints would have felt aggrieved if they got nothing out of the game too.”
Saints also fell foul of the official with Ben Oakley given his marching orders for a second bookable offence in the second 45 minutes.
He too found the back of the net along with Huon Lickley.
“Ben Oakley wanted an early shower; he’d had enough. He scored his goal and thought ‘get me out of here’,” Saints coach Oliver King said.
The result ensured Saints’ opening round defeat at the hands of Bellingen is now a fading memory.
They have taken seven points from the last nine.
“I would have loved three points down there which would have really put the Bellingen result behind us, but I’ll take a draw,” King said.
“I know Southern are a team that are going to get better through the year; they’ll finish thereabouts.
“If we’re a step ahead of them that’s ideal for us so one point away isn’t the end of the world.”
In other weekend fixtures, Coffs United were pushed all the way before they held off Port United 2-1 and Bellingen kept their perfect start to the season in tact with a high-scoring 5-3 win over Kempsey Saints.
Boambee and Macleay Valley played a 1-all draw while Taree Wildcats, Coffs Coast Tigers, Northern Storm and Sawtell all had their fixtures postponed.
Coastal Football Leagues 