By Logan Marsh

The Douglas United Dragons have battled injury and unavailability to secure two hard fought wins over bottom club Southside at the weekend.

With only seventeen players available for both matches it was always going to be a tough ask but credit to the players, they hung tough and managed to get wins in both games with the senior side having to withstand a strong comeback to hold on for a 3-2 win. It was slightly easier going in the early game with the reserves running out winners 5-1.

The main game started with no less than eight players having played some minutes in the reserve game with five having played the entire 90 minutes. Still the Dragons were out of the blocks sharply, having Southside on the back foot for the majority of the first half. There was some early wastefulness from the Dragons attackers but soon the Dragons had value for their dominance through goals to Matty Smith and Andy Warburton.

Smith then made it 3-0 as the teams headed into the half time break converting from the penalty spot after he himself was fouled in the area. Smith had been excellent in the first half along with Gavin Jenkin at the back while Matthew McMaster back up his 90 minutes in the reserves with a combative display in midfield and Perry McIlroy showed some lovely touches in his return from injury.

The second half saw the Dragons visibly tire and Southside sensed this. They started committing more numbers forward as they were less worried about being caught out on the break. As the Dragons struggled with cramps and injuries, Southside became even more dominant and while there was considerable doubt about the legitimacy of both goals they did manage to pull it back to 3-2. The Dragons dug deep though and managed to hold on for the three points that keeps their faintest top four hopes alive. A stronger team and plenty more goals that were on offer would have increased that chance significantly, however it was not to be.

The Paddy’s Bar Man of the Match went to Gavin Jenkin who was rock solid at the back while there were courageous performances all over the pitch from the rest of the Dragons players. Next up is the final week of the regular season that sees the Dragons head to Innisfail for a catch up game on Thursday before a home fixture to wrap up the season against Marlin Coast. Kick offs are at 5pm and 7pm.