A goal in the dying minutes saw the Calder Cannons escape with a draw against Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup at Morwell on Saturday.
After trailing by five goals earlier in the match, the Cannons led by 10 points at three-quarter time.
They gave up the lead in the final quarter before a goal to Ryan Baker saw the Cannons tie the scores.
It stayed that way to the final siren, with the Cannons kicking 9.12 (66) to Gippsland’s 10.6 (66).
Cannons coach Andrew Johnston said the side concentrated on getting the contested ball to get back into the match.
“We got away with a draw. We needed to play one-on-one contested footy. It was ugly footy but sometimes you need to do that to get the result.
“It put their defenders under pressure and we were able to get the ball into the forward line.“
The side was very different from the Cannons line-up which won its previous match two weeks earlier.
“We had eight changes,” Johnston said. “Callum [Moore] and Nick [O’Kearney] were in South Australia playing for Vic Metro and Kova [Mark Kovasevic] missed with an ankle injury.”
Among those to come into the side were four debutantes.
“Jaron Murphy is a 19-year-old who has been close to getting a game all season,” Johnston said. “He came in after kicking 11 goals for his club side and provided us with a target.
“The other three boys [Ryan Baker, Lachlan Bramble and Campbell Moorfield] are 17-year-olds and handled the game really well. They’ll be better for the experience.”
The Cannons are ninth as they go into a bye weekend.
“The guys are really showing effort and intensity,” Johnston said.
“It’s been pleasing form in recent weeks.”
Northern Knights lost 14.11 (95) – 11.10 (76) to Dandenong Stingrays.
Kieran Malone was best for the Knights, kicking four goals and racking up the possessions.
Both teams have the weekend off with the competition having a bye for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.
