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Commodores stay near the top with close victory over Dural

The Commodores 16 Boys held off a late rally from Dural to run out winners 3-2 and maintain their position near the top of the Premier League in a rousing derby at the Dural Sport and Leisure Centre.
With only 3 minutes on the clock the Warriors took the lead when Wade Giovenali carried the ball down court passed the ball wide to the overlapping Josh Mathie who cut in from the right side and slammed the ball past the keeper into the top corner of the net.
The Commodores response was almost immediate as Luke Clifford received the ball on the edge of the area and drilled the ball past the keeper to make it 1-1.
The two sides were very closely matched as each side had chances to take the lead with Dural coming very close when Nathan Niski?s shot from the left side cannoned off a post.
Dural are a side that use the full width of the court and like to open up their opponents with good passing and movement before going for goal while the Commodores were preferring to defend solidly and hit their opponents hard on the break and this is how they scored their second goal.
After soaking up a period of possession from Dural the Commodores broke quickly led by Keifer Dotti who crossed to Dean Fowler on the right side who smashed the ball home at the far post to make it 2-1.
Commodores almost extended their lead when Brian Griffin-Colls hit the post and Dural keeper Ben Moon saved well from Keifer Dotti.
Just before half time Grant Freeman made a great save to deny Chris Polkinghorne then denied the same player again forcing the follow up wide.
Just after the break the Commodores went so close when a shot across goal from Keifer Dotti passed behind the keeper to the other side and the follow up shot struck a post and away to safety.
Dural almost equalised when the Commodores keeper failed to grasp the ball under pressure and the ball fell to David Kanaley whose header struck the crossbar.
The Commodores took a firm grasp on the game when Brian Griffin-Colls dispossessed a player in his own half and sped up court and passed across court to Dean Fowler looming in support who drilled the ball home at the far post.
With six minutes to go Dural pulled a goal back when a long cross court pass from Luke Clifford found Keifer Dotti who slipped the ball under keeper Kamil Syed to make it 3-2.
Dural piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser and Kamil Syed pulled off two great saves to deny Josh Mathie and Wade Giovenali in quick succession. Then Glen Kelshaws curling shot from the left sailed just wide.
In the final minutes Durals Wade Giovenali pounced on a loose ball but sent his shot just wide and Nathan Niski poked the ball agonisingly just wide from close range.
In last minute the Commodores almost put the game beyond doubt when Hayden Capewell fired just over the bar.
In a fast and tense game throughout the Commodores defended with great determination to hold off the fast finishing Dural Warriors to win 3-2.
Although they weren?t at their best today Commodores coach Ashley Cross was relieved to see an end to their recent form slump after starting off the season so well. He is looking for a bit more improvement in his young side where all but one player is under 15 years of age. On this performance it looks like there?s plenty to look forward to.
Teams
Dural                                                                            Commodores
1. Ben Moon    (GK)                                                     1. Grant Freeman
2. David Kanaley                                                          3. Luke Clifford
3. Joshua Mathie                                                          4. Alex Doyle
4. Sameer Mokhtar                                                       5. Brian Griffin-Colls
5. Nathan Niski                                                             6. Hayden Capewell
6. Chris Polkinghorne                                                    7. Reid Taylor
7. Theveshran Moodley                                                 8. Keifer Dotti
8. Wade Giovenali                                                        9. Bradley Robertson
9. Peter Pelekanos                                                       11. Dean Fowler
10. Glen Kelshaw                                                           20. Kamil Syed (GK)
Goals
Dural : Joshua Mathie, Wade Giovenali
Commodores : Dean Fowler 2, Luke Clifford