By David Nagel
Kicking a winning score was always going to be extremely difficult for Beaconsfield against second-placed East Ringwood at Holm Park Reserve on Saturday.
Persistent rain during the week had transformed the Eagles usually pristine home ground into a dormant light shade of brown, with slippery conditions making basically ball-handling a tricky skill to execute.
And the visiting Kangaroos clearly have the best defensive record in Eastern Division One football…being the only team to still concede under 600 points for the season after a grinding 7.7.49 to 3.0.18 victory.
Impressively, the Kangaroos are conceding a tick under 46 points per game.
Beaconsfield had just three scoring shots for the afternoon, and two of those came in the opening six minutes of play when the Eagles took the first steps towards causing a substantial upset.
The Eagles early pressure was fantastic, and a forced defensive error from East Ringwood saw the Eagles take the first shot at goal after a kick out of bounds on the full.
From directly in front of the Holm Park Reserve pavilion, Sam Mackinder delivered a perfect right-foot snap from 35 metres out…and the Eagles were away.
That early vibe intensified just three minutes later when Matt Johnson read the ball best and dribbled one through from 20-metres out after a chest mark at the back of the pack.
The Eagles led by four points at quarter time.
But the Eagles would not trouble the scorers for more than two quarters, with Johnson converting after running on to a loose ball after 14 minutes of the third term.
Between Johnson’s two majors, the Kangaroos had kicked five unanswered goals to take control of the contest.
Ben Hickleton and Trent Farmer were doing most of the damage for the Roos, but it was an early third-quarter goal from Mitch Farmer that put the game out of the Eagles reach.
An attainable 17-point half-time deficit had blown out to 23 points…which was too big a task in the conditions.
The Eagles were once again more than competitive around the ground, but just lack the firepower up forward to really make an impact on the best teams in the competition.
Trent Stokoe, Robbie McMillan and Hayden Brough joined Mackinder on the best players list for the home side, while youngsters Tyson Robinson and Sam Cachia weren’t afraid to rub shoulders with some of the best players in the competition.
The Eagles have won four games for the season and will look to add to that total when they head to Montrose this week to take on the might of the Demons that sit in sixth place on the ladder.
Round 14 in Eastern Division One shapes as a real beauty, with the top-four teams to lock horns on the weekend.
After its win over Beaconsfield, East Ringwood host ladder-leaders Mooroolbark in a battle for top spot on the ladder, while Wantirna South (4th) host Mitcham (3rd) in another fascinating battle.
Beaconsfield’s run home consists of games against Montrose (6th), Croydon (5th), Upper Ferntree Gully (10th), Mitcham (3rd) and Lilydale (9th).
RESULTS – ROUND 13
Beaconsfield 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0(18)
East Ringwood 1.2 4.5 5.6 7.7(49)
Beaconsfield Goals: M. Johnson 2, S. Mackinder. Best: T. Stokoe, H. Brough, S. Mackinder, T. Robinson, S. Cachia, R. McMillan.
East Ringwood Goals: B. Hickleton 3, T. Farmer 3, M. Farmer. Best: H. Mundy, M. Barkas, J. Weatherill, J. Belo, C. Cerni, B. Hickleton.
OTHER GAMES
Croydon 5.14.44 v Wantirna South 7.12.54, Mooroolbark 12.12.84 v Lilydale 5.5.35, Upper Ferntree Gully 5.4.34 v Montrose 19.11.125, Mitcham 12.8.80 v Bayswater 9.11.65.
LADDER
Mooroolbark 52, East Ringwood 48, Mitcham 32, Wantirna South 28, Croydon 28, Montrose 20, Bayswater 20, Beaconsfield 16, Lilydale 16, Upper Ferntree Gully 0.
FIXTURE – ROUND 14
Montrose (6) v Beaconsfield (8), Croydon (5) v Upper Ferntree Gully (10), East Ringwood (2) v Mooroolbark (1), Lilydale (9) v Bayswater (7), Wantirna South (4) v Mitcham (3).
