Bathurst '75 claims 5-1 Western Premier League win at home over Macquarie United

The Bathurst men picked up their third straight win, keeping the pressure on their local rivals Panorama in the battle for a top two spot.

The wet conditions saw Saturday's game moved across from Proctor Park to the neighbouring Police Paddock although it didn't take '75 long to make the right adjustments in the rain.

The hosts shot out to a 2-0 lead on the back of goals from Chris Howarth and Toma Curry but a deflection from the Bathurst side into their own net gave Macquarie a glimpse of a possible upset win.

However, the goal didn't strip '75 of their momentum and Andrew Smith and Agieg Aluk's goals got the side home.

For added measure, Tom Rooke hit the mark with a penalty kick before the final whistle.

Bathurst '75 coach Mark Comerford said it was pleasing to see his team able to play a brand of football close to what they would usually aim for, even in the challenging weather.

"Conditions were pretty testing for both teams, but we both wanted to play football and there weren't a lot of long balls. People were still trying to play to feet and play their normal game," he said.

"They were a bit light on numbers. They had 13 players, and had to take a few guys out of their own league. We only had 13 players as well, but I thought we controlled the game reasonably well.

"There were a few patches on the ground that were reasonably iffy but the ball still travelled fairly well. I don't think we were overly tested, so it was reasonably comfortable in the end.

"The wide areas of the field were better than the central areas of the field, a bit firmer. They tried to play out from the back as well, and so did we, and both teams had an understanding of the conditions and tried to play good football."

Bathurst '75 have testing games coming up away to Orana Spurs and at home to Panorama FC, so the result takes them into those challenging back-to-back rounds in the right mindset.

"Most of our goals that we score are through great balls to feet and crosses to the right areas. It's pleasing that we can score plenty of goals in those conditions," Comerford said.

"We probably could have found a couple more but all in all that was probably a fair result on the day. It was great for us to get the points. We need to make sure that we just keep progressing along.

"As treacherous as it was at times, and difficult to play in, I thought both teams played in the right spirit. I'm really appreciative for the Dubbo guys to make the long trip, jump out of the bus into rain but still remain positive about the whole thing."

The Orange CYMS versus Panorama FC fixture at Jack Brabham Park was moved to Monday evening due to the rain.

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