MURDOCH University Melville (MUM) went down fighting in a 2-1 loss to Wanneroo City in its State League Division 2 clash at Murdoch University.
The strong Wanneroo outfit showed its class with two well-taken goals just after half-time, before holding off a strong finish from the hosts.
Seeking to make it back-to-back wins to kick off its campaign, MUM started brightly and captain Dean Thurston had the best chance early when he curled wide from the edge of the box.
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READ NOWHowever, the visitors began to exert their influence on the game and MUM goalkeeper Alec Radonich was forced into a number of smart saves to keep the scores level at half time.
Wanneroo continued to threaten after the break and finally took the lead when the hosts coughed up possession deep in their own half and the Roos’ winger made no mistake from close range.
The lead was doubled just a few minutes later in spectacular style, as their winger’s exquisite touch beat two defenders before he emphatically fired past Radonich,
However, MUM played its way back into the match in the last 20 minutes and set up a grandstand finish when Ryan Tucker headed home Broden Brown’s free kick.
The hosts thought they had earned a share of the points deep into injury time when Michael Ranieri bundled the ball home from close range, but the referee consulted his linesman and adjudged Ranieri had obstructed the goalkeeper as he nodded home.
In other results, the reserves went down 2-1 to their Wanneroo counterparts, while the under-18s also lost 2-1.
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