WESTERN PORT scoreboard
Triple treat for passionate Pies CRIB POINT FC
By Jared Newton MONEY can buy you good footballers, however it can’t buy you passion. Three Crib Point sides ventured down to Sorrento, three sides trailed all day, three sides pinched the lead with less than ten minutes to go, and three sides managed to hold on and win in what will go down as one of the more memorable home and away matches for the Pies in a long time. The fire and passion which has only been present in patches presented all day and the results fell the Magpies way. The win could be the catalyst the senior side needs to get the season fired up heading into another bye.
After losing Waide Symes in the first five minutes to a knee injury, Sorrento kicked away to an early six goal lead and looked as though he result could have been another foregone conclusion 20 minutes in. However the Pies fired back with three quick goals late in the quarter into the wind to stay in touch. Despite playing good footy and going goal for goal most of the afternoon, neither side were able to get a run on and the lead stayed pretty static in the 15–25 point range. At the final change the Magpies found themselves 15 points down kicking with a strong breeze and through the dominance of James Cook in the ruck won clearance after clearance,
laid tackle after tackle and swamped the Sharks, pinching the lead 22 minutes into the final term to run out victors by 17 points. It was a gutsy win, especially being down to two rotations shortly after half time. Dean Warry kicked four and gave plenty of grief to Sorrento’s defence, and Brad Davidson added three. Brad Arnold had his best game for 2015, and James Cook was a clear-cut BOG with a lone hand dominant game from the ruck. The reserves were shown little respect in their clash and refused to go away and like the senior game swamped Sorrento late to run out winners by 20 points. Once they got a sniff Sorrento ca-
pitulated under the relentless pressure and folded once Crib finally took the lead. Neil Clark gave the team a massive target up forward snagging two and goal sneak Matty Blake added three. Sam Austin and Dan White gave plenty of drive from the middle with plenty of football; Quinn and Condick getting plenty of the pill in the back half. The under 19s stamped themselves as genuine contenders for the flag with a gutsy come from behind victory over third placed Sorrento. The boys didn’t have the kicking boots on in the windy conditions mustering 1.10 in the opening three quarters but were never out of the hunt as they scrapped their way to a 10 point
win on the back of a six goal final quarter. Jayden Deas is playing his best footy again, and Billy Heritage was best on field with two goals from the middle. The quieter Espenschied had another ripper game for the boys and has been in the best the last four games as they run to 5-1 and firmly entrench themselves as second on the ladder for now. Not many clubs can boast they travelled to Sorrento, took home three wins in the footy and swept the netballers too. While it doesn’t quite make up for the hurt of last year’s grand final it might just be the confidence boost the Pies need to get the belief back that made them such a good side in 2014.
“Team first” approach inspires Blues victory HASTINGS FNC
By Phil Stone, club president SENIORS REPORT GOING down to Red Hill was always going to be a test for the Blues. We started the game slowly and Red Hill got a few goals ahead and looked like they were going to kick away. We were able to weather the storm and scored were level at quarter time. Our tackles were down in the first quarter and the focus for the rest of the game was to get our pressure up. We were able to do this with 19 tackles in the second quarter, 28 tackles in the third quarter and finished the game with 80 tackles which is an incredible count. There is no doubt that the win was a team effort and testament to the pressured and defended style of football we played. Moving forward, we have to maintain our team spirit and discipline and realise that winning games of football doesn’t come from flair but hard work, intensity and want for the contest. It is impossible to name a ‘best on ground’ which sums up the kind of team effort that was put in. RESERVES REPORT THE reserves game against Red Hill would dictate if the Blues would stay in the top five. In very windy conditions we kicked against the wind in the first quarter and had to play very tight to shut down Red Hill. The boys applied the pressure from the start and got a few shots at goal but missed into the stiff breeze. In the second quarter the boys were in attack straight away missing a couple more goals before we finally got one. Another quickly followed and A. Vinson was marking everything that came his way and Wade Delahaye was fighting very hard through the centre of the ground with his second and third efforts. Into the third quarter the boys just had to maintain possession and not allow Red Hill to kick away with the wind which they did fantastically. We went into three quarter time with scores level. At the start of the last the boys were all over Red Hill but only managed three points in the first half of the quarter.
Red Hill came out in top in the last ten minutes to win by ten points. Better players in the day A.Vinson, W. Delahaye, M. Cave, C. Lehmann, B. King. UNDER 19s by Aaron Wilson A COUPLE of our better players were unavailable for the under 19’s. With this is mind our boys went out in the first quarter and played a spirited competitive style of footy to only trail by a few points. From then on the boys struggled to keep themselves in the contest. They now have the chance to regroup and now need to get to training, as we have a big game against Tyabb at home. Hopefully they will all stick together and a win might not be too far away. NETBALL REPORT A GRADE played a much more open match against Red Hill and are now starting to play the style of game we’ve been working on. Thanks to Keely and Bec for helping us out. B grade started a bit nervously and by the second quarter had patches working well. Bec, Jema and Keely certainly got their mojo going in the second half as we made a few changes that ended up working by the fourth quarter. It was great of Georgia to come and help out the girls today; it was much appreciated. I’m calling it early that Tyabb B grade will take out the flag this year. C grade had their best game for the year. Abbey Baker and Jess Reid combined really well in the goal circle and Ash Masterson had a great game in her new position. A big thanks to the girls who filled in for us and also to the girls that pushed through and played with injury and illness. Tyabb next up will be very tough across all grades, let’s stick together and fight out our matches. *** Next Game: 13 June: HASTINGS FNC vs TYABB FNC at Barclay Oval, Hastings start time 10.00 am Let’s get right behind our all–conquering Blue boys. *** Up Coming Function 20th June, 2015 vs Crib Point FNC Past Players 1905, 1975, 1995 Premiership Reunion on the 20th June from 11.30 onwards 2 Course Meal $35.00 a head, should be a great day. Go Blues.
No luck for A-Grade girls: Despite playing an open-style game, the A-Grade girls lost to Red Hill 67 – 12. Picture: Andrew Hurst Western Port News 2 June 2015
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