Berwick City goalkeeper Jake Biondo was kept busy all day by the potent Dandenong forwards. 51073 Picture Stewart Chambers
By Gavin Staindl
FOR the first time this season Doveton sits among the top two on the Provisional One ladder and looks primed for promotion.
Doveton won its fifth game in six weeks after dispatching Old Melburnians 2-0 at Waratah Reserve.
The win places it in second position, half a game in front of third and only goal difference behind first.
With the top two Provisional One sides advancing to Division Three at the end of the season, and with only six rounds remaining, Doveton has timed its run well but coach Daniel McMinimee is not getting too carried away.
“Things are looking all right but we don’t want to get too excited,” he said.
“It is driving the team at training knowing the opportunity for promotion is there. Our training sessions are full and there is a good vibe among players keen to impress.”
One player keen to impress is experienced central midfielder Gary Davidson who arrived at Doveton early last week after three years with Division Two side Berwick City.
The best and fairest winner from Berwick last year decided to return to his junior club after injury and lack of match fitness prevented him from making the starting 11 at Jack Thomas Reserve.
Davidson, 28, made his season debut for Doveton in the 2-0 win and joins experienced campaigners Leon Buhic and Rory Todd as Doveton’s core group of experienced players.
“We have a young side so we’ve been looking for that extra bit of experience, especially in the central midfield … that little bit of experience makes a big difference,” McMinimee said.
Todd and Buhic again led from the front with Todd playing a commanding role in the midfield while Buhic expertly chipped the goalie twice to score the game’s two goals.
Doveton will play five of the bottom six teams in the six-week run home but, as McMinimee rightly points out, these could be the most dangerous games.
“On paper we have the better half of the draw but these games are the ones that worry us because all those teams we play will be fighting to avoid relegation … no game will be overlooked,” McMinimee said.
Provisional One side Endeavour United welcomed the three points it won after beating Whitehorse 3-1 and in doing so partly removed the growing threat of relegation.
The win keeps United eight points clear of the drop zone.
The Berwick Kings dropped to seventh position after their 0-0 draw against Old Carey moved them below Endeavour.
In Division Two the Berwick Kings were handed another painful loss.
Their 0-3 loss to Dandenong City was made worse with the news the lowly placed Southern Suburbs stole a point off Diamond Valley, extending the gap between last and second last to more than a game.
The Casey Comets relished the result as it meant their 2-3 loss at home to Eastern Lions still kept the blue and gold within two games of Diamond Valley in second place.
