Bundoora United took it down to the wire but came away with the points against Mill Park in the Diamond Valley Cricket Association’s Money Shield on the weekend
In a round affected by rain, the Bulldogs were one of just three teams to get a win.
Bulldogs captain Mathew Ross said while some sides were happy to come away with the draw and three points, they were going to go for the win no matter what on Saturday.
“We don’t want to leave anything to chance,” he said.
“Mill Park batted on, so they needed to bowl us out to get the points. “We had a shortened amount of time to get the runs. “We managed to get there by the skin of our teeth.”
Mill Park managed to get to 149, with Rayan Williams the standout with 82. Scott Barnett took 5-28 off 24 overs for the Bulldogs.
Ross said after a slow start with the bat, they were able to take control of the game.
“They started well with the ball and they had us on the back foot,” he said.
PHOTO GALLERY: Mill Park vs Bundoora United
“We had a good partnership between Corey Cogan and Conlan Gunn for about 70 or 80 for the third wicket.
“We needed 30 off the last 10 overs. In the end we needed six off the last over.”
The Bulldogs finished 7-152. Cogan was the pick of the batters with 59. Ross said what pleased him most was how the side went about the run chase.
“We have a lot of experienced cricketers and we kept stressing don’t panic and play the situation.
“You have to look for your ball. It went deeper than I would have liked, but we didn’t panic.”
The win was a massive one in the context of the season, with the other four teams fighting for finals spots, all having draws.
The Bulldogs now sit three points clear on top and nine points clear of fifth. Having missed out on finals last year, the Bulldogs aren’t taking anything for granted.
“We have to win the last two games to make finals to be 100 per cent there,” he said.
“Last season we missed finals by one point and one more game we would have finished on top.
“We don’t want to leave anything to chance and we want to keep improving every week.
“We’re just trying to worry about next week.”
The Bulldogs face Old Paradians and third placed Lalor Stars in the final two rounds.
In other results, Lalor Stars had to settle for a draw against Eltham.
Mernda made it two wins in a row, beating Research Eltham Collegians, while Old Paradians beat Lower Plenty.
