Burleigh Heads coach Colin Phelan says he will return to the club after “gut-wrenching” finals exit

ONE of the Gold Coast Premier’s League’s most respected figures has vowed to return in 2019 as his club fights to end its title drought.

BURLEIGH Heads coach Colin Phelan has vowed to lead the Bulldogs’ 2019 Premier League title tilt following their “gut-wrenching” finals exit against Surfers Paradise on Saturday.

After starting the season with seven-straight wins, Burleigh’s campaign came to a meek end at the weekend with a 6-5 penalty-shootout loss to Surfers Paradise at Pizzey Park.

Scores were locked at 1-1 at the end of extra time after Bulldogs striker Matt Hilton’s opener was cancelled out by a Yuji Hirayama wonderstrike, with Apollo now preparing for Saturday night’s preliminary final away to Gold Coast Knights.

Burleigh legend Phelan, who returned to the club this season after four years away, said the pain would drive him as his side chases its first title since 2007.

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Burleigh coach Colin Phelan. Picture: Richard Gosling

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“I’ll be back here next year. We’ll be stronger,” the Liverpudlian said.

“It’s a great club, I’ve had a lot of support and we can only build on this now. (Finishing) third … next year we’ve got to keep going forward.

“I’m gutted for the lads (about Saturday), they’ve been a great group to work with. Everyone’s effort’s been superb, they work hard, they get on well together, they enjoy each other’s company and the club’s got something to build on.

“We’ve got great facilities and great people running the place. There’ll be a few players who want to come here next year.”

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Burleigh striker Matt Hilton finished as the league’s top goalscorer.

HISTORY REPEATS FOR SHOOTOUT SPECIALISTS

After bursting out of the gates at the start of the year, Burleigh’s run home included four draws and two losses in their last nine games.

Phelan said they would take some valuable lessons out of their late-season fade out.

“Obviously a lot of it comes down to myself, but we probably could’ve managed games better at times,” he said.

“Probably in the last half of the season we were 2-0 up on a few occasions against good sides, Surfers, Broadbeach, etc, and we let them get a foot back in the door. That’s something we can do better and we want to work on.”