It’s hard to blame Halifax Dunbrack Bremner’s for a rather dull celebration after a well-played win last night.
Sure, they blanked two-time defending Nova Scotia Soccer League Premiership champion Halifax City 1-0 at Mainland Common, improving to 11-0 and stretching a three-year regular-season unbeaten streak to a startling 31 games.
But after the heartbreak of back-to-back losses in the provincial final, Dunbrack isn’t getting wound up over anything that happens in the regular season, especially with a bye to next month’s championship already in the bag.
“I’ll be excited when we win the final,” said Dunbrack’s Hamzeh Afani. “That’s the biggest thing for us.”
Added Mike Marsh: “It’s a big deal, it’s nice to win and keep the unbeaten record, but we won’t be celebrating too much after this. We’re trying to stay level-headed this year.”
Regardless, Dunbrack is doing a fine job killing time until the big game. With a crowd of 375 looking on last night, they controlled the play against City and got the winner in the 42nd minute from Marsh. The reigning Golden Boot winner took a feed from one-time Toronto FC midfielder Derek Gaudet and booted one home from just outside the six-yard box.
Dunbrack had a handful of other golden chances to extend the lead but couldn’t convert. The fact that the game stayed close is enough to keep Dunbrack wary moving forward.
“We make one mistake and it’s in our net,” Marsh said. “That’s how it always happens with them.”
Marsh said Dunbrack is “definitely a better team at this point in the season” than it was last summer, noting that Gaudet’s presence through provincials will be a big factor.
“We just have to keep working on our defence,” he said.
Shockingly, City is at risk of missing the playoffs. After last night’s loss, the club slipped to 5-3-3, third in the league and just two points ahead of fourth-place Scotia. The second- and third-place teams gain entry to the lone semifinal.
