Westmeadows coach Dave Connell was nervous going into the final quarter against Craigieburn in the Essendon District Football League division 1 clash on Saturday.
The Tigers were 23 points down and despite kicking with the wind in the final quarter, Connell knew his side had a challenge on its hands.
PICTURE GALLERY | Westmeadows v Craigieburn
“At three goals down late in the third, I thought, okay, we can do this,” he said.
“At four goals, when they got one after the siren, I was nervous.”
“But we kicked three of our own in the first five minutes of the final quarter and I thought we were okay then.”
Connell need not have worried as his side kicked on to win 15.9 (99) to 13.12 (90) at Willowbrook Reserve.
“The intensity lifted towards the end and our final-quarter tackling was our best of the match,” he said. “We had 89 tackles all up and 30 of them were in that last quarter.
“We started the first 20 minutes of the game flat, which cost us.”
Most impressive for Connell was the side’s ability to win when not playing well.
“That’s one thing we spoke about after the game.
“In the first three or four weeks of the season we’d have dropped the match from being in that position.”
Robbie Mullen was best on ground for Westmeadows, looking dangerous every time the ball went near him, while Mitchell Church, Osman Allouch, Alistair McChristie and Evan Penaluna were also prominent.
Eagles coach Peter Bugden said it was a tough game of football.
“We were confident at three-quarter time that we could hold on,” he said.
“At half time we were 11 points down and by three-quarter time we were 23 points up, so we had the run of the play.
“They [Tigers] certainly made the most of their opportunities and were able to kick multiple goals in a row, which we couldn’t stop.”
The Eagles weren’t helped by the loss of full forward Nicholas Fletcher in the third term.
Both teams have a tough couple of weeks coming up, for different reasons.
“We’re fighting relegation,” Bugden said. “After a couple of tough years for the club, to get back-to-back wins would have been good. We’ve taken significant steps in recent weeks and have been more competitive.”
For the Tigers it’s about sealing up a finals position.
“The two sides below us have had two byes and we’ve had only one so that makes us another game ahead of them on the ladder with us getting four points for the bye,” Connell said. “We face them both in the next two weeks, so if we win them it will probably secure finals.”
Tullamarine beat Oak Park in division 1, 10.10 (70) to 9.10 (64).
In premier division, Greenvale lost to Avondale Heights, 14.7 (91) to 9.5 (59).
In division 2, Roxburgh Park beat Moonee Valley 9.6 (60) to 6.8 (44), while Jacana rolled Keilor Park 15.9 (98) to 10.14 (74).
