Bathurst '75 suffers first defeat of the Western Premier League season at hands of Barnstoneworth United

It was the number of successive unbeaten games that the Bathurst men were shooting for in their meeting against Barnstoneworth United FC but the Orange club dashed those dreams in a 1-0 result.

A strike from Tim Dowler with just over 20 minutes to go was all that separated the clubs at Proctor Park.

The result takes Barnstoneworth to a share of the competition lead with Orange Waratahs and Panorama while for '75 it leaves them holding onto fifth spot ahead of Parkes Cobras, only on point difference.

It adds extra pressure on '75 for this Thursday's catch up game against Waratahs.

Mark Comerford said that trying to maintain unbeaten status in 2022 was always going to take something remarkable.

"It was always going to be a challenge to go through the season undefeated, given the nature of the comp," he said.

"In the last few weeks Lithgow have beaten Barnies, Spurs beat Waratahs and Mudgee beat Panorama so it doesn't matter where you are on the ladder, every game is going to present a challenge.

"There's still room for improvement for us, and the weekend's game was pretty close. There weren't a massive amount of chances for either side. We had a good chance in the first half and they had a free kick chance as well.

"Then in the second half they had one chance which they scored. At the end of the day it was a bit of an arm wrestle. We just couldn't find the net. It's the first time this year that we weren't able to find a goal."

Barnies would have gone up just before the break on the back of a well directed Jackson Fuda free kick but Bathurst '75 goalkeeper Jack Hunter was able to push the strike over the crossbar.

The Orange side eventually got the breakthrough in the 68^th minute when Dowler's half volley from the top of the 18 yard box found the back of the net.

The hosts had the better share of possession deep into the second half as they unsuccessfully searched for a reply.

"The fact we couldn't create many opportunities was disappointing, and from the few that we did have we probably could have done a better job to find the target," Comerford said.

"That's something that's been strong for us but we just couldn't get that right on the weekend."

The team's upcoming games with Waratahs (Thursday) and Lithgow (Saturday) will be vital for '75's finals aspirations.

"We've got some tough games coming up in quick succession so we need to see if we can first get a result on Thursday, because it will get us back in the mix again," Comerford said.

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