By Logan Marsh

The Douglas United Dragons have gone down to top of the table Mareeba at Cassowary Park on a hot and blustery Sunday afternoon. The Dragons took the lead twice in an enthralling match but were unable to hang on for victory on the back of some poor refereeing decisions. The first and third goals were both contentious with offsides playing a part in both goals.

The Dragons started them match well looking to attack Mareeba head on. Plenty of joy was had down the right hand side with Fryars, McIlroy, Marsh and Cooling all linking to good effect while Matty Smith was involved in a torrid battle on the left hand side that he was marginally shading. The opening goal came from the right when McIlroy and Fryars interchanged passes before the latter crossed to find Marsh who buried the header into the corner of the net.

The Dragons defence had been dealing well with the much-vaunted attacking trio of Gardner, Mete and former A-Leaguer Shroj. This was until Gardner was released down the Dragons left despite appearing to be yards offside. His shot was brilliantly saved by Michael Wade, who was deputising for the injured Fitzgerald in the Dragons goal, only to see the rebound prodded home. The scorer was also very close to being offside when the initial shot was taken.

The Dragons showed excellent resolve after conceding the equaliser and went straight back onto the front foot. They continued to shade possession and looked the more dangerous of the two sides, retaking the lead near the end of the half after a good period of pressure. A ball was only half cleared to Gavin Jenkin and his shot managed to elude the out of position Mareeba keeper and the defender on the line. The strike was perhaps aided by not being the cleanest of all time as it seemed to wrong foot the defender but either way it gave the Dragons a 2-1 half time advantage.

The second half saw more of the same although Mareeba began to press more and more for an equalising goal. The Dragons rearguard looked comfortable in dealing with the attacking threats that Mareeba posed and it looked like only a mistake would let the Bulls back in. Unfortunately there was a mistake as a skied clearance put the Dragons under pressure. The ball was crossed in and a sublime finish locked the scores up at 2-2. The Dragons were forced into a double substitution when first James Cooling was forced off with an ankle injury and then Matty Smith succumbing to what seemed to be a concussion after receiving an elbow to the head towards the end of the first half.

Both teams pressed for a winner as it seemed unlikely the match would end in a stalemate. There were half chances at both ends with Wade making a couple of very sharp saves to keep the Dragons in the match. Then the match descended into a farce. Dragons skipper Nick Tither made one of the cleanest tackles of the season only for the referee to blow for a free kick. From the resulting set piece Mareeba scored again from an offside position to give Mareeba a 3-2 lead. In the ensuing furore, Dragons coach Logan Marsh was sent from the bench for his protestations.

Despite the cruel blow that had been dealt to them the Dragons rallied and looked to find an equalising goal. Unfortunately they could not muster any real clear-cut chances and finished the match with a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss. The Paddy’s Bar Man of the Match went to Marty Fryars who defended well all game and got forward well throughout the match. The Dragons Reserves also went down on Sunday 1-0 in what was probably a fair reflection of the state of the match. Despite being shaded ever so slightly throughout the course of the match the Reserves were unlucky not to get a point from the match as they hit the post from a free kick late in the match.

Next week the Dragons travel to Stratford in what now becomes a must win fixture for the Dragons. Stratford sit third on the ladder and with games against fifth and then second in the coming weeks the Dragons head into a period that is as close to win or bust as you will get.