Match Details
Match Date	20th Apr, 2001
Opponent	Parramatta
Result	Draw 20-20
Coach	Steven Folkes
Captain	Darren Britt
Venue	Parramatta (Parramatta Stadium)
Crowd	20,222
Referee	Tim Mander

The Bulldogs and Eels drew 20 all in a Friday night blockbuster.

The Eels dominated the early parts of the first half going ahead 4-0 through a Wagon try off a bomb. The Bulldogs had struggled to keep hold of the ball and the pressure told.

After that the Bulldogs started to turn the momentum around. They started to complete their sets of six and gain some stability. The Bulldogs persistence paid off when Nigel Vagana scored after some great Bulldogs hands.

As the thunder sounded in the background and the rain poured down the Bulldogs kept driving forward.

The Bulldogs continued to turn pressure into points as Jamie Feeney scored through a grubber into the in goal in the 21st minute. Hasem El Masri signed off a great first half performance with a penalty goal to give the Bulldogs a 10-point lead into halftime.

The Bulldogs would've been cautious during the break considering their previous 2 second half performances against the Warriors and Tigers.

Their caution showed early in the second half as the bulldogs forgot the razzle-dazzle and concentrated on the basics. The wet weather made for tricky handling, which wasn't going to help Parramatta make up a 10-point gap. Parramatta didn't seem to show confidence in themselves early on with some shaky play.

Parramatta's fortunes turned in the 59th minute as Michael Buettner scored to take the Eels within 4 points.

Parramatta seemed to have a new life sparked into them and started to put the Bulldogs under the knife. When Daniel Irvine went into score in the 66th minute the Bulldogs nightmares had come true. The Eels had come from 10 points behind to take the lead. The Bulldogs were once again had a come back to deal with.

When everything seemed to be going against the Bulldogs a wonderful charge down by Jamie Feeney saw the youngster pick up the ball and race in to score and give the Bulldogs the lead and a timely moral boost.

With 6 minutes left and the Bulldogs leading by 4 points it looked like they had escaped the knife 3 weeks in a row. The match looked like a foregone conclusion but in what turned out to be one of the matches of the year got even better.

The Eels exploited an overlap out wide and Jason Moodie went into score and give the Eels a shot at the win. With a difficult kick from the sideline, if the 1998 semi final popped into your mind you weren't the only one. Hodgson's conversion attempt went wide and a win against all odds wasn't to be.

The match ended in a 20 all draw, the score line reflected a pretty even contest. In a match that had it all, great tries, bizarre weather and a great comeback, it really didn't deserve a winner.

Source: www.rleague.com

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