By Mark Gullick
CRANBOURNE withstood a final quarter charge to clutch a one-point win over Pakenham at Toomuc Reserve in their round five clash in the Casey Cardinia Football League on Saturday.
By half-time, the Eagles were soaring with a 32-point lead and seemingly cruising.
The Lions hit back in the third term with six goals to three to trail by 11 points.
In the final term, Cranbourne was able to hold off the fast-finishing Lions by kicking goals at crucial times.
The Eagles conceded six goals, but added four to remain ahead.
With 20 seconds remaining, and his side trailing by two points, Pakenham’s Frank D’Agostino took a running shot on goal, which was rushed through for a behind.
“He kicked two goals just before that, but missed that one on the run,” Pakenham coach Michael Holland said.
“He was a bit shattered, but at the end of the day, you look at the whole game, not just that one shot.”
Although languishing in eighth spot, Holland believes his team is on the right track.
“We’ve got to be patient and hang tough for the first half of the year, and hopefully when we get a bit of continuity and a few experienced boys back, we’ll make a run for it,” he said.
“I was proud of the boys’ performance. Halfway through the third quarter, we were down by 40 points and we started to get a bit of momentum and run in the legs and nearly got over the top of them.”
The win maintained Cranbourne’s perfect record, although coach Doug Koop knew it was a close call.
“We were lucky to hold on,” he said.
“Pakky are a young side with great skill and they run the ball really well. Unfortunately in the second half, we let it get away too much and they probably should have pinched the game.
“We’ll take the four points and run. You can’t allow them too much space as they’re capable of hurting you on the scoreboard. I think they’ll get better as the year wears on.”
There were numerous great performers from both teams.
For the Eagles, winger Stuart Morrish and the consistent Nick Barker were prominent in their 100th games, Glenn Osbourne and Matthew Rus played well, and big men Michael Boland and Troy Tharle Adams controlled the air.
Marc Holt kicked five goals and Justin Berry added three.
Champion midfielder Luke Walker was superb for the Lions, while Michael Taurua was strong in defence.
Jason Fisher, Dom Paynter and Beau Wheeler played well.
@BT Sub Sport News:DEVON MEADOWS v BERWICK
BERWICK shrugged off Devon Meadows to record an 11-goal victory at E..G. Allen Oval.
The Wickers overcame a slow start to pile on 14 goals in the middle quarters, while restricting the home side to four goals.
It was Berwick’s big names who led the charge to victory.
Nathan Waite dominated the Panthers’ hapless defence to kick eight goals and extend his lead in the goal-kicking competition.
Nathan Page was superb through the midfield, Vergim Faik and Stephen Finlayson formed an influential combination in the ruck and around the ground, and Yilber Zijai added plenty of class to the contest.
Devon Meadows coach Rod Keogh was left to lament another defeat.
“The boys are trying their heart out, but we’re not getting any joy on the scoreboard at the moment,” he said.
“Although we’re getting beaten, we’re still pretty pleased with how the boys are going about it. The important thing is to have an upbeat attitude and we think we’ve got a lot of good times ahead of us.
“At the moment we’ve got to take as much away from these hard games as we can. It’s a test not just for the players, but also for everyone at the club to keep a real positive frame of mind, because we can certainly see light at the end of the tunnel.
“We’ve just got to hang in there and support the boys as much as possible.”
For the vanquished, Lochlan Burke and Nathan Dumergue continued their superb early season form.
Chris Campbell returned to the senior team and was a strong performer, Steve McInnes’ returned from the Casey Scorpions was successful with another classy display, and Brandon Wapshott and Michael Bain maintained their solid form.
@BT Sub Sport News:HAMPTON PARK v ROC
HAMPTON Park’s harder, experienced bodies paved the way for its 69-point win over ROC at Robert Booth Reserve.
The Redbacks shook off a dogged ROC outfit in the second half to kick eight goals to one in that period.
“The first quarter and a half was terrible,” Hampton Park coach Clint Evans said.
“Then after half-time, we played some really good football. We ran the ball really well and our pressure was good, and they’re a very young side.”
In the absence of goal-kicking ace Kerem Baskaya, Hampton Park was able to spread scoring load with nine players kicking a major.
“It shows we don’t have to rely on him all the time,” Evans said.
“We’ve got so many blokes that can go through the midfield, and then go down and kick goals as well. We had 31 scoring shots to seven, which was very pleasing.”
Best players for the Redbacks were Jack Besley, captain Matt Shorey, Linden Fredericks through the midfield, and Scott Winsall.
