IT WAS supposed to be a walk in the park for Manly United – but the MWFA Select Squad gave them a huge scare in the annual friendly at Cromer Park on Wednesday night.
Brendan Cholakian’s men had to come from behind to win 2-1, with all three goals in the first half.
Wakehurst striker Dave Burnage opened the scoring after 22 minutes for the underdogs, with his free kick beating United keeper Shaun Catlin from distance.
It jolted Manly United into action, with two goals in three minutes from Dejan Pandurevic (31 minutes) and Dylan Macallister (33 minutes) restoring parity.
Both squads emptied their benches in the second half, with the football end to end.
Cholakian conceded his team rode their luck at times.
“We started flat, which was disappointing, but I felt we eventually worked our way into the game,” he said.
“It was certainly a useful hit-out, the locals boys played some great football.
“Our fitness is good, but we need to work on a few other areas, mainly being clinical in front of goal.”
United take on Cooma this weekend before hosting Canberra Olympic FC in their final trial game next Sunday.
Their season officially kicks-off on Saturday, March 11 with a trip to Miranda where they will play Sutherland.