Gareth Clegg controlled the defence for Pakenham with a standout performance at the back.
By JARROD POTTER
AFTER a first-half wake-up call, Pakenham Cougars rallied to put the right result on the board, a 6-3 win over fellow new club Truganina.
Elbert Teles took a sabbatical on the bench to start the match, leaving Patrick Nolan and Keegan Bloomfield up front to do the heavy lifting.
Truganina dominated the early play with great passing and solid pressure and forcing Pakenham into one of their worst halves of play all year.
Pakenham played selfish football, without the usual team-oriented flourishes that defines the Cougar’s style. Alex Herrera and captain Cris Moreno tried to give the rest of the team a call to wake up, but to no avail as Truganina raced ahead with three early goals.
The Cougars were staring down the barrel of a surprise loss before the gears started turning in their favour – Pakenham was granted a penalty with a couple of minutes left in the half and Wellington Teles stepped up to take it and slotted it to reduce the margin to two.
A half-time rocket from coach Marcos Sakano was what the doctor ordered – Pakenham stepped up in the second half and kicked five unanswered goals to secure a 6-3 win and save themselves from an embarrassing upset at home.
Elbert Teles scored the opening goal of the second half and set up Bloomfield for the second of the half to equalize at 3-3 before scoring again to take his hat-trick and wrest the lead back.
The fifth Pakenham goal of the half was the cherry on top – Bloomfield got a great pass out wide on the right wing, crossed it in with a perfect lob over the keeper and Elbert headed away his fourth of the match to put the result beyond question.
Truganina tried to push back offensively, but Gareth Clegg’s fortress-like resilience from defence made sure that wouldn’t happen.
Nolan put on a masterclass up forward and down the lines, earning a best on ground nod, while Bloomfield was placed in attacking midfield, instead of his normal striker role, to fill in for the injured Sebastian Moreno and dominated the position. Elbert Teles was sensational in the second-half come back and made a great spectacle.
The Cougars retain their top spot on the ladder and have the weekend off before facing Mooroolbark on 26 August.
