Above and right: BEACONSFIELD seniors went down in a thriller by four points, when Berwick kicked a goal after the siren to win the first ‘Battle of the Creek’ for the season.
There was a large crowd at Manuka Oval, as both sides had a great deal at stake the winner keeping in touch with the top five and the loser back in the pack.
The pressure was evident from the first bounce, resulting in a number of unforced errors on both sides.
The Eagles were not able to capitalise, despite shading Berwick in general play and went to the first break eleven points behind.
Robins was well held and Kelf was not getting it all his own way in the ruck. The Beaconsfield midfielders were on top and Ziesler and Jackson kept Donaldson and Gorozidis well in check.
The pressure in the second quarter was unrelenting and although Beaconsfield gained the upper hand, it was only able to slot through three majors while keeping the Wickers to nil.
The Eagle young brigade was playing solid footy and this enabled them to lead at the long break by nine points.
With the game in the balance and the players on both sides starting to tire, a more freeflowing game evolved.
With Kelf out of the action, injured Ryan Jolliffe stepped up, giving away 15cm to his opponent, and more than held his own.
Five goals two behinds apiece for the quarter set up the final stanza as crunch time.
Mislicki, who had been busy all day, snapped truly and the Eagles moved out to a 15point lead and looked like the winners.
Berwick had other ideas and peppered the goals, in large part through Gorozidis, who had been well held all day by Jackson, creating crucial opportunities.
Trailing by four points, the Eagles snapped a goal with a minute on the clock and looked to be home.
However, a clean takeaway from the restart saw the Wickers find Donaldson 30 metres out as the siren sounded. He kicked truly to deny the Eagles an improbable victory.
Scores: Beaconsfield 15.12.102 lost to Berwick 15.16.106.
Goals Beaconsfield: Daniel Mislicki 4, Ash Drake 3, Haydn Robins 3, Justin Duffy 2, Ryan Jolliffe, Luke McConnell, Adrian Jolliffe, 1.
Best Beaconsfield: Craig Jackson, Ash Salter, Rob Taylor, Daniel Charles, Daniel Mislicki.
RESERVES
Looking to make amends for a poor showing last week, the Eagles were on the wrong end of a football lesson as Berwick piled on seven unanswered goals in the first quarter.
For the rest of the match the team played in catchup mode and the Eagles never troubled their opponents.
Steve Munday played well and Mitch Burns was solid after halftime, while Garreth Helliar was stout in defence.
Scores: Beaconsfield 6.5.41 lost to Berwick 13.12.90.
Goals Beaconsfield: James Brown 4, Rick Geritz, Chris Sharp, 1.
Best Beaconsfield: Steve Munday, Garreth Helliar, Mitch Burns, Andrew Stent, Denny Lalouette, Shaun Klein.
UNDER 18
The Eagles were in trouble early as the Wickers pushed out to a fivegoal lead early in the second quarter.
Solid work for the remainder of the game saw Beaconsfield hit the lead late in the third term.
The ladder leaders fought on well to record an elevenpoint win to maintain its unbeaten record.
Scores: Beaconsfield 10.9.69 d Berwick 9.4.58.
Goals Beaconsfield: Mitch Collins 4, Daniel Kowalski 3, John Noonan, Ryan Olsson, Reece Pater 1.
Best Beaconsfield: Paul Van Lambaart, Ryan Olsson, Kallan Burns, Mitch Collins, Michael Brown, James Alexander.
COLTS
The Eagles met the Seaford Tigers on Friday night.
In a frustrating game for both sides where goals were at a premium the Eagles fell short by a goal, despite having more scoring shots.
Scores: Beaconsfield 3.13.31 lost to Seaford 5.7.37.
