By Brad Kingsbury
DEVON Meadows led Narre Warren all day except for the last five seconds of their clash at Fox Road on Saturday, going down by one point in a breathtaking climax to a great game of football.
The Panthers have now lost two games by a total of three points and drawn one with top side Doveton, in a season of shattering near misses.
On the other hand, the young Magpies continued to find a way to win, despite being hamstrung by the absence of injured senior players including Brett Evans and captain Glenn Hamilton.
The home side went as warm favourites, but was led by the determined physically imposing Panthers at every change.
Magpies Tim Werner, Guy Miller, Lee Boyle and Daniel Uzeravic were all injured and off the ground for the rest of the afternoon before three-quarter time, so it was down to the bare bones for the Magpies in a desperate final quarter.
Devon Meadows retained a slender lead until the dying minute when young ruckman Daniel Kirby marked 25 metres out on a slight angle.
Despite goalkicking not being his forte, he kicked truly to level the scores.
The Magpies then broke from the centre again and Daniel Borninkhof bounced his way into attack and handballed to teenager Nathan Brewster who scrambled the winning behind just seconds before the final siren.
Triumphant coach Matt Shinners gave credit to the unlucky Panthers during the post-match euphoria.
“It was a terrific win, but they were probably a bit unlucky really. They were in front of us all day and they really stretched us in height,” he said.
“We butchered the footy a bit and they missed a few shots at goal in the last quarter and that gave us a chance. We took it and that was great.”
Ryan Murphy played his best game for Devon Meadows since crossing from Phillip Island and Chris Shepherdson, Daniel Rigg and under-18 Steve McInnes were also prominent all day.
Bitterly disappointed coach Steve O’Brien gave his players a dressing down afterwards and said a last-quarter lapse had cost them the match.
“I thought we had some pretty basic instructions to stick to in the last quarter and it took them half the quarter to do it and we lost the game,” he said.
“We’re just not getting over the line and it’s getting very frustrating.
“I think we’re among the most consistent teams in the league and we do play an uncompromising brand of footy, but we’re just not getting the results I think we deserve.”
Further bad news was an arm injury to captain Scott Young that may see him miss several weeks.
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:Redbacks shock Cranbourne
HAMPTON Park celebrated the 50-year reunion of its first-ever premiership side by outplaying third-placed Cranbourne from start to finish of their weekend clash at the Booth Reserve, recording a 21-point victory.
The Redbacks stunned their opponents with aggression and ferocity at the ball, booting away to a 15-point lead at the first break on the back of three quick goals from charismatic spearhead Kevin McLean.
The home side never looked back or gave the Eagles a chance to regroup from that time on, leading for the rest of the day.
Cranbourne players like to build their momentum, but their forwards were harassed from the word go and the efficiency with which they normally deliver the ball was missing, although Callum Lester, Nick Barker and rising star Max Gearon continued to present throughout the afternoon.
It was the Redback youngsters who led the way with Brady White, Luke Nunan and Chris Barnes leading their opponents to the ball and producing the spark for the home side to play its best game of the season to date.
The victory was made even better, given that Hampton Park was hit by injuries to several players including coach Josh Taylor and lanky ruckman Shane Moffatt as the game went on, and had only 17 fit players at the end.
Taylor, who was on crutches with an ankle problem after the game, was thrilled with the effort and said that his players’ confidence was growing.
“Our build-up was good and we just jumped them early and they couldn’t recover,” he said.
“I think they were a bit shell-shocked, but I’ve got to give our boys a lot of credit. Our confidence is up and it’s amazing how well you can play when you believe in yourselves.
“That’s a good win for the club and I’m pretty proud of the way the boys approached this game.”
@BT Sub Sport Gaz:Doves dump Burra
THE gap between the top and bottom of this year’s Casey Cardinia League competition is 91 points.
That was the margin that undefeated ladder leaders Doveton won Saturday’s match by at the Robinson Reserve against winless cellar-dwellers Keysborough.
The Doves now move on to face traditional rivals Cranbourne at Casey Fields next Sunday, while the Burra are left to lament what could have been in 2009.
Doveton rover Michael Henry sparked his team-mates into action, backing up his recent return to form with a best-afield effort and the game was effectively shot in the first half, with Burra coach Greg Siwes playing extra men behind the ball in an attempt to shut down the Doves goal-scoring options.
Shaun Witherden’s battle with star Dove ruckman Russell Gabriel was a highlight of the afternoon, as was the effort of Doveton’s attack which boasted 12 goalkickers to produce its 19 goals.
Corey Wilkinson kept Doveton captain Justin Hill in check, Davor Rajic had the better of Danny Casset (three goals) and Ryan Hendy was kept to one goal.
However, the Doves are not reliant on any one player to win their games and the writing was on the wall early with their lead increasing at each break.
While the Doves lost Daniel Charles before the game, Keysborough’s shocking run of outs has not helped the cause with Michael Downie and Matthew Freeman on the long-term injury list, however coach Greg Siwes did not use that as an excuse.
“We were just outplayed,” he said.
“Doveton has improved and they’re playing good footy at the minute. They’re fit and move the ball really well.
“Having said that, I don’t think the margin reflected the way we played. I thought we were okay for a lot of the game and we had almost as much of the football as they did. They were just cleaner and sharper than us.”
