Written by Zain Rizvi
The first league game of Steve O’Reilly’s tenure ended in a 2-1 defeat for a relatively young Dunstable side. Pre Kick-Off, there was a minute of applause for Gareth Jackson, the former Town manager who sadly passed away last week after a battle with a long illness. For much of the first half, the teams were splitting hairs with little separating the two sides. James Lauder came agonisingly close in the 21st minute with an inswinging cross that rattled the bar. Tensions became palpable, with James Lauder being booked in the 29th minute and Colney Heath’s Jamie Fulton also picking up a yellow at the end of the half. Some good defending from both sides and a couple of good saves from Caleb Chandler concluded the half at 0-0.
Dunstable came out looking energised in the second half, coming excruciatingly close as Alex Ward threaded a ball across the face of goal but Mason Davis was unable to get the final touch to turn it in. In the 67th minute, a Heath corner was cleared and fell to Jamie Fulton who found the back of the net with a wonder strike from outside the box, leaving Chandler with no chance.
Dunstable continued to create however seemed to be struggling to convert and things were made worse when, in the 81st minute, Kelechi Ettiene progressed from left back and fired, yet another long range goal which took a slight deflection to take it past Chandler. Town found themselves 2-0 down which was a harsh reflection of the performance. In the 90th minute, Jamie Fulton received a second yellow and was sent off. Almost immediately after, Jamie Ovington pulled one back following a corner.
There was hope that Dunstable would be able to clutch a draw when they were awarded a corner with what would end up being the final kick of the game, unfortunately, it was unable to beat the first man and the visitors took home all three points.
Dunstable look ahead to a game away at Winslow United on Tuesday where the boys hope to bring home all three points.