PORT United coach Chris Walsh firmly believes his team can be in the hunt come finals time after turning a corner on Saturday.
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United has struggled for the past month or so, but returned to playing Walsh's preferred style in a 1-1 draw with Camden Haven at Dixie Park.
Josh Casey smashed home a great drive in the second half to cancel out United defender Tony Raymond's own goal in the first 45.
Casey finished well from the top of the box against the ladder-leading Redbacks.
He's the ideal man whom you want the ball to come to in that situation, and Casey made no mistake again.
"He's good from distance," Walsh said.
Raymond's goal would have been a cracker had it been at the other end. He miscued a header which flew inside the post and into the goal.
The home team pushed hard in the final quarter of the match but couldn't get the winner.
"We had multiple attacks in the last 20," Walsh said.
He paid tribute to the Redbacks' resilience.
"Their defence was just too good," he said.
Walsh has a message for the other nine teams in the Football Mid North Coast Premier League as the competition heads into its pointy end.
He was certain United had hit the bottom in terms of results, and was on its way back up.
"Look out," he said.
It was better that the flat month had come earlier in the season, rather than at finals time, as United has weeks to turn its season around.
Man of the match was shared between Raymond, Casey and Jake Avery.
Casey and Avery did plenty of work in the midfield all afternoon.
A couple of injuries have thrown spanners in the works. Damien Cross and Andy Collins limped off with hamstring problems.
Collins's looked a bit more serious than Cross's, according to Walsh.
He's got some difficult decisions to make in coming weeks. Walsh said Raymond did enough in the defence to keep his spot in first grade for next weekend's match against Old Bar Barbarians.
Lucas Heagney, who missed the match through suspension, would probably sit on the bench next week.
"Based on yesterday, I can't change the squad," he said.