Burleigh Heads coach Colin Phelan concedes defeat in Gold Coast Premier League title race

BURLEIGH Heads coach Colin Phelan concedes the Gold Coast Premier League title race is all but over, but expects his troops to rebound from their disappointment against Surfers Paradise.

BURLEIGH Heads coach Colin Phelan concedes the Gold Coast Premier League title race is all but over, but expects his troops to rebound from their disappointment against Surfers Paradise tonight.

Six points adrift of ladder-leading Gold Coast Knights with a game in hand, the Bulldogs slipped further off the premiership pace with a shock 1-1 result away to battling Murwillumbah on Sunday.

Having gone down 1-0 through a penalty inside five minutes, the visitors looked set for their second loss of the season before striker Matt Hilton equalised with the last kick of the game.

Burleigh striker Matt Hilton scored a late equaliser in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Murwillumbah. Picture: Glenn Hampson

THE BULLETIN’S PREMIER LEAGUE CRYSTAL BALL

While the Knights could even secure the title as early as tonight with victory at home to Palm Beach, Phelan is confident his players will respond the only way they know how.

“We’ve got go again … if we want to finish second, or the Knights might get beaten, you never know,” he said.

“It was disappointing (against Murwillumbah), there’s no doubt about that. The first half I thought we were a bit ordinary, we played within ourselves and never really got going.

“We gave them a penalty so they’ve got something to defend. If we’d gone 1-0 up we’d have won that game 7-0 but they defended really, really well.

THE 70-0 WIN HELENSVALE DIDN’T NEED

Bulldogs coach Colin Phelan. Picture: Richard Gosling

“The keeper (Ryan McCloy) has had a stormer and we’ve missed chances but it happens, we’ll learn from that. It’s probably knocked the race for the title on the head.

“It’s been a little bit difficult, we’re trying to get up every week and with (the Knights) playing their games early, next time we’re looking at (the table) and they’re nine points in front.

ANOTHER MAULING BUT BEARS STILL WARY

“It’s a little bit hard psychologically (but) we’ve got to try and finish as high as we can and go again. We’ve got to be up for Surfers.”