Cobram Roar has survived a second-half barrage from Boomers to come away with a 1-1 draw at Glen Park on Sunday.
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Bill Puckett put the visitors ahead after 26 minutes, but the sending off of Roar coach Adam Gatcum for a dangerous tackle on Nathan Scott late in the opening half changed the complexion of the game.
Noah Spiteri finally found the equaliser for Boomers in the 65th minute, after taking advantage of a deflection off the post, but the home side failed to make the most of numerous other opportunities.
Roar goalkeeper Samuel Varley produced a number of outstanding saves to keep the game tied and allow his side to walk away with a point.
Gatcum was disappointed to leave his side undermanned with a poor, late tackle, but was proud of the effort to hold on.
“Obviously it’s tough going down to 10 men, but they really dug deep and fought really hard,” Gatcum said.
“We rode our luck a little bit in the second half, but I think they earned that point, so I’m pretty happy with the performance.
“They had a couple of chances and there was a couple of good saves, but we had a couple of good chances up the other end and did well to see it out.
“We came here looking for the three points and I thought we had our game plan working well up until the sending off, which changed things a little bit.
“We reshuffled things and manged to come away with a point, so I’m pretty happy with that away from home as Boomers are a tough side.”
Boomers coach Decha Saisanid admitted his side wasn’t clinical enough in the final third, which ultimately cost them the victory.
“As soon as they went down to 10 men, we felt like we had full control, but we just lacked some composure in key areas of the game,” Saisanid said.
“We could have just switched off and they’re good enough to score a goal, no matter how many players they have on the field.
“For us to run it out, I couldn’t be happier with the boys because only one team was out there to try and win it and that was us.
“We’re still unbeaten, so we’ll roll up next week and put this one behind us pretty quickly.”
Saisanid said Spiteri will be a player to watch for Boomers throughout the season.
“Noah is another one of our young brigade that will play a big part in our year,” he said.
“He’s been a little bit slower to get into the side this year because of cricket, but he’ll feature heavily.”
Around the league, Wodonga Diamonds took care of Wodonga Heart 4-1, Twin City Wanderers upset Albury United 3-2, Myrtleford handed Melrose its first loss 2-1, Wangaratta thrashed Albury Hotspurs 6-0, while Albury City had a much-needed 5-1 win against St Pats.
The ladder is: Wangaratta 13, Melrose 12, Myrtleford 12, Boomers 11, Cobram Roar 7, Twin City Wanderers 7, Albury United 7, Albury City 6, Wodonga Diamonds 6, Albury Hotspurs 6, St Pats 0, Wodonga Heart 0.