Twice this season Whittlesea has been in a position to win tight games in Northern Football League division 2 but fallen short.
It wasn’t quite third time lucky for the Eagles at the weekend but they managed to take away two points by drawing 9.8 (62)-7.20 (62) with Fitzroy Stars.
The Eagles were lucky to be in the game as the Stars missed early opportunities to run away.
The Stars had 12 more scoring shots than the Eagles but couldn’t shut the game down.
Eagles coach Brad Dean admits his side was lucky.
“Even though we were in the game, they had 12 more scoring shots. We did not give up – it was the last kick into the forward 50 which was hurting us,” he said.
“We had Cameron Colon back from the Northern Blues for his first game, so we structured up taller than what we had been doing.
“We kicked it too long instead of going to targets.”
For Dean, the way his team reacted to being two goals down with five minutes to go would show how far his side has come.
“I was very interested in how they would play,” he said. “We’ve been in that situation twice and have not been able to respond how I would have liked.
“They kept on playing to instructions and stuck with it for the whole 30 minutes of the last term.
“The Stars have been beaten at home twice in the last 15 or 16 times they have played there, so it was a really good effort.”
Dean said Jordan Ormerod was the spark in the last quarter.
“He is one who normally does a job for us in the back pocket but we needed a bit of run,” Dean said. “He won four or five clearances himself and sort of got us going.
“Joel Bramble had some really good efforts in the last quarter … encouraging as both are two of the younger guys in the side.”
The Eagles are 2-2-1 after five rounds.
“It was a bit unknown coming down from division one with everyone thinking that you should be premiership favorites,” Dean said.
“There’s seven teams that are fighting for the top four spots. It’s a very close competition.”
Other weekend winners included Thomastown and Lalor. Bundoora won in division 1 and South Morang was a victor in division 3.
