By David Nagel
Just like winning can sometimes gloss over cracks – losing can sometimes camouflage an impressive performance such as the effort of Beaconsfield against top-team Mooroolbark on Saturday.
The Eagles were dealt with early by the Mustangs, but showed great dedication to a team-wide cause to stay with the ladder leaders for the remainder of the match.
The Mustangs kicked eight goals to Beaconsfield’s seven after quarter time on their way to a 13.6.84 to 8.8.56 victory at Holm Park Reserve.
Beaconsfield trailed by 17 points at half time, but closed the gap to just four points after Hayden Brough and Jafar Ocaa kicked close-range goals in the first eight minutes of the third.
The Eagles matched motors with the Mustangs through the midfield, but class and efficiency up forward – and an ounce of luck – told the story of the third quarter in the end.
Star forward Aaron Mullett stretched the margin back to 10, after a strong grab in the goal-square, before a long-bomb from Jeremy Neumann pushed the gap out to 15 after 22 minutes of play.
Mullett then threw the ball onto his boot, from 60-metres out, with the Sherrin appearing to be touched by Casey Thomsen on the goal-line.
But, after the umpires conferred, the goals stood to give the Mustangs a 22-point lead at three-quarter time.
Any hope of an Eagles’ revival was short-lived, with a running goal to key-defender Trent Georgiou and a right-foot snap from Neumann kicking the margin out to six goals.
The Eagles rallied, with goals to Casey Wassylko, Ocaa and Matt Johnson…but the damage had already been done.
Beaconsfield coach Mick Fogarty could only see positives after a competitive performance against the ladder leaders.
“I was rapt with our performance; we went in with a really strong plan about getting extra numbers around stoppages and turning it into a dog fight,” Fogarty explained.
“When we won footy that allowed us to surge from our defensive 50 and that provided us with opportunities to score.
“We didn’t get the points, but I was delighted with the way we went about things on the weekend.”
A touch of class just made all the difference at crucial stages of the match.
“The top teams have just got four or five extremely good players, like Aaron Mullett who kicked three goals and two of those were from the boundary,” Fogarty said.
“Only special players can do that, they can change games.
“Georgiou is a really strong key defender for them, an intercept marker, and having players like that makes all the difference in the end.
“But we couldn’t have done any more against that calibre of opposition…I was really happy with our performance.”
Wassylko, who shared key forward and second-ruck roles this season, once again impressed his coach.
“Casey has been outstanding, really good in his area of the ground, really strong and he’s got good footy smarts around the contest,” Fogarty explained.
“He’s a big body, wins his one on ones, and I couldn’t be happier with how he’s performed for us this year.”
The Eagles, who dropped from fifth to seventh on the ladder after Saturday’s loss, hit the road this week to take on ninth-placed Bayswater.
The Eagles face the bottom-three teams in the run home, and will need to win those games and possibly win two others to be a chance of qualifying for finals.
RESULTS – ROUND 11
Beaconsfield 1.2 3.4 5.6 8.8(56)
Mooroolbark 5.2 6.3 9.4 13.6(84)
Beaconsfield Goals: M. Johnson 3, J. Ocaa 2, M. Wilson, H. Brough, C. Wassylko. Best: C. Wassylko, S. Mackinder, J. Bowd, H. Brough, M. Johnson, C. May
Mooroolbark Goals: J. Jordan 3, A. Mullett 3, J. Neumann 2, T. Georgiou 2, J. McManus, C. Maki, B. Dmonte. Best: T. Georgiou, A. Smith, J. Weichard, C. Maki, H. Keeling, A. Mullett.
OTHER GAMES
Croydon 11.10.76 v Bayswater 6.5.41, Upper Ferntree Gully 7.5.47 v Lilydale 8.9.57, Montrose 11.23.89 v Wantirna South 17.8.110, Mitcham 5.7.37 v East Ringwood 6.10.46.
LADDER
Mooroolbark 48, East Ringwood 40, Croydon 28, Mitcham 24, Wantirna South 20, Lilydale 16, Beaconsfield 16, Montrose 16, Bayswater 16, Upper Ferntree Gully 0.
FIXTURE
Bayswater v Beaconsfield, East Ringwood v Croydon, Lilydale v Mitcham, Wantirna South v Upper Ferntree Gully.
