Bathurst '75 draws 3-all with Orange Waratahs in Western Premier League round nine action

The royal blues would twice throw away a one goal lead at Proctor Park, but the hosts remain undefeated after nine games played.

Bathurst '75 coach Mark Comerford felt like it was three points lost then one point gained.

"[Waratahs] looked for corners, they looked for free kicks and even in general play, they didn't really play to feet up front," he said.

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"They put the ball in the mixer all the time. It was difficult to deal with and we didn't deal with it twice and it resulted in two goals, like last week. We've probably thrown three points away, to a degree."

The visitors opened the scoring three minutes into the match when Craig Sugden scored from a corner, the Waratahs forward continuing his rich vein of form in front of goal.

Waratahs would dominate the possession and chances in the opening 20 minutes, but were unable to capitalise on their opportunities.

Those missed chances would come back to bite the visitors in the 26^th minute when Athaui Aluk bolted down the left wing, put in a shot which rebounded off the post and hit a Waratahs' defender, which ultimately deflected into an open net.

Bathurst '75 hit the front just after the half hour mark when Riley Comerford got a touch from a corner to score his first goal in the WPL and give the hosts a 2-1 lead, which they held until the break.

Sugden would score his second goal of the match seven minutes in the second half, to level the score at 2-all.

It was Sugden's fifth goal in two games and his eighth of the WPL season, promoting him to the top of the goal scoring charts.

With 15 minutes left on the clock, Toma Curry spurned a great chance when he couldn't convert a one-on-one opportunity with Waratahs keeper Adam Brakenridge.

But '75 would hit the front again in the 80^th minute when Kyle Cummings made a burst down the midfield, made a pass to Damian Booth out wide, who left it for his winger Curry.

Curry would cross it into the box, with Agieg Aluk hitting the ball first time and putting it past Brakenridge for his seventh goal of the season.

The royal blues would throw away their lead only three minutes later when, once again, they conceded from a corner when Sinclair scored.

Comerford said it was disappointing that his team couldn't deal with set pieces.

"There were other patches where we looked like we could score goals through the kind of play we had for our third goal," he said.

"It just didn't go to our way. We didn't deal with the set pieces from the corner and that was disappointing."

Waratahs coach Adam Scimone said while he was disappointed his side didn't win, he was pleased that the Orange club still managed a draw.

"It was positive that we didn't drop all points but it was disappointing for us because we had some chances in the first half that we couldn't capitalise on," he said.

"That's football; if you don't take your chances, that happens. ['75] spun it around and they got the two goals and put us under a bit of pressure."

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