Doveton’s Simon Mur assesses his options against the Peninsula Strikers. 85597. Picture: JARROD POTTER

By RUSSELL BENNETT
DOVETON has maintained its impressive unbeaten record, defeating Peninsula Strikers 3-2 despite a late fight back by the Frankston side in their Division 3 south-east clash at Waratah Reserve on Saturday.
After a lacklustre opening 15 minutes, the Doves finally got on top and went ahead on the half hour mark when a Farai Murwira cross was deflected into his own net by a Strikers defender.
The game looked out of the Strikers’ reach early in the second half when the Doves went 3-0 ahead through a Simon Mur tap in and a second Strikers own goal.
But after poor defending in the Doves’ area, Ben Caffrey pulled it back to 3-1, and when Miron Andronikos’ bullet header made it 3-2, it took a fingertip save from veteran keeper Tony Hermus to keep their lead in tact.
Matters were made worse for the home side when Gary Davidson was dismissed for a second bookable offence, but the Doves held on for the last 10 minutes to claim all three points.
In other local soccer action, the Casey Comets went down at home to Malvern City 3-0, Riversdale thumped Hampton Park Sparrows 4-0, and Endeavour United fought off Boroondara Eagles 2-0. Berwick City’s State League 3 clash away against Heatherton United was postponed due to poor ground conditions.