Orange CYMS fall to Bathurst ‘75 in Western Premier League opener
It wasn’t exactly the fairytale start to the new Western Premier League era for Orange CYMS after a disappointing 5-1 loss to Bathurst ‘75 at Jack Brabham Park on Saturday.
Despite their absence from the Central West’s premier football competition for some time, Bathurst ‘75 are back on the big stage and ready to wreak havoc among the competition heavyweights. The former six-time champions certainly proved this in their emphatic victory against new boys Orange CYMS in the opening round of the 2022 BurMac Western Premier League.
CYMS showed good composure in the opening minutes, but this quickly faded when the ‘75s took the lead in the 16th minute after striker Agieg Aluk ran around the CYMS keeper and scored a tap in. The Bathurst side added a second goal shortly after, following a cheap turnover by the hosts.
Bathurst ‘75 dominated the flanks and the middle of the pitch, their playmakers threading intricate through-balls to the forwards, which left some of the inexperienced CYMS players confused and seemingly unable to cope with the intense pace of the game.
In the 36th minute, a delivery from the midfield found Agieg Aluk in the clear. Aluk slotted the ball between the legs of CYMS goalkeeper Joseph Kay making it 3-0 for the ‘75s. The Bathurst ‘75 striker celebrated with the famous “Kylian Mbappe” goal celebration, adding salt to the wounds of the green-and-gold players and fans.
Trailing 3-0, CYMS were desperate for inspiration going into the second half. Tightening things at the back and launching more direct counterattacks, the young CYMS side finally established some momentum in the contest.
But in the 70th minute, CYMS conceded a cheap fourth goal, off a Bathurst free-kick. An accurate delivery into the box and some poor defending by the home side presented the opposition striker with another simple tap-in.
CYMS finally cracked Bathurst 75’s defence in the 85th minute, thanks to David Cahill getting on the end of a one-on-one situation and calmly placing his shot into the bottom of the net to make it 4-1.
But despite the consolation, Bathurst bagged a fifth goal two minutes before the end.
Even though this 5-1 loss against Bathurst ‘75 is a painful defeat for the CYMS outfit, there is still plenty of positive and learning experiences to take from this game, according to CYMS goalkeeper, Joseph Kay,
“We came into the WPL to test ourselves against the region's best, and we did that today,” he said.
“Bathurst ‘75 is a high-quality side with many former Western FC players in their line-up. We had patches of good play, but a quality side like 75s will punish your mistakes; we simply made too many of them throughout the 90. We definitely learnt a lot from the experience and will take that into our next match-up against Parkes.”
Aajd after spending many years in the local A Grade competition, he said it's a great feeling to finally play in the Western Premier League
“Yeah, it has been a long time coming. It’s been great to keep a core group and develop it all the way from juniors into A grade and now into the WPL,” he concluded.