Roxburgh Park scraped in to the Essendon District Football League division 2 grand final by the barest of margins on Saturday.
After their worst performance of the season in the first round of the finals the previous week, the Magpies were made to fight all the way to beat Coburg Districts 12.9 (81) to 11.14 (80)
No more than two goals separated the teams all day.
Magpies coach Paul Derrick said he thought his side could hold onto its two-goal three- quarter time lead in the final term.
“We were two goals up but they had the wind,” he said. “We kept our heads over the footy and knew we needed to score goals in the final quarter. We managed to get those goals and held the lead for the whole last quarter.
“They kicked a goal with 10 seconds to go to make the margin one point.”
Derrick said that with their top two goalkickers injured, the Magpies had to find a way to score.
“Matthew Mickleson [who leads the league goal kicking] and Tim Blackner didn’t play and are gone for the season,” he said. “Blackner hasn’t played for the last few weeks and Mickleson was injured last week.”
Adrian Mackinnon kicked four against Districts but Derrick said it was difficult to pick his best players.
“I couldn’t find a bad player which is a huge difference from last week when I struggled to find a good one,” he said. “It was a team effort.”
Derrick said it was an exciting time for the club.
“None of the boys have grand final experience and neither do I,” he said. “We need to take it as it comes and provide a good contest.”
The Magpies will face East Keilor, who defeated them by 46 points in the first week of the finals.
“It’s not about revenge, it’s more about winning the premiership and who will work harder on the day for it,” Derrick said. “We expect to show up and put in an good contest.”
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Tara Murray
