OUYEN UNITED
0.2 1.3 5.6 6.6 (42)
IRYMPLE
0.3 1.6 2.8 4.15 (39)
GOAL KICKERS: OUYEN UNITED: R. McKay, D. Willsmore 2, B. Summerhayes, B. Vallance 1.
IRYMPLE: L. Garlick 2, N. Mee, C. Mensch 1.
BEST: OUYEN UNITED: D. Willsmore, K. Stevens, A. Parrella, H. Smith, J. Grace, R. McKay.
IRYMPLE: J. Robinson, M. Roads, T. Brownbridge, J. Hura, N. Cirillo, Z. Wandin.
BOTH Ouyen United and Irymple showed they will be strong finals contenders after producing a thrilling encounter at Henshilwood Oval on Saturday.
The blustery conditions, where wind gusts peaked at about 30km/h, weren’t conducive to playing good, free-flowing football.
But it didn’t stop the Kangas and Swallows putting on a tough, enthralling clash where the result was up for grabs until the final minute.
The visitors prevailed by three points, but the Swallows shouldn’t be too disheartened after their under-strength team put up a good fight.
Down by 16 points at three-quarter time, the reigning premiers were rushing home with the wind at their backs before the Kangas’ defence stood tall.
Dallas Willsmore and Brad Vallance, who dropped back from the forward line, took some key late intercept marks to deny the home side, which also squandered several good forward 50 marking opportunities and fluffed a few set shots in the final term.
The victory keeps the Kangas in third spot with an 8-3 win-loss record, while the Swallows – which were without injured midfield gun Dan Coghlan (broken leg) on Saturday – remain in second with one extra win than Ouyen United.
Playing co-coach Vallance, one of his side’s best against the Swallows, praised both teams for their hard-working performances.
“It was a low-scoring game, so we both had to work hard for goals,” he said.
“But that comes down to their pressure and our pressure in the contest.
“We knew that the game would open up in the second half, and it did. The team that was able to defend the hardest for the longest was able to get over the line. Thankfully that was us.
“I thought our defence in the last quarter was unbelievably good as they came home well.”
The Kangas look well placed in what appears a favourable run home to the finals.
They next play Imperials (home), Red Cliffs (away), South Mildura (home), Robinvale (away) and Mildura in the final round at home.
“We’re not looking too far ahead. We’re just looking at each challenge as it comes,” Vallance said.
“We knew going into today’s game that they were one spot above us on the ladder, so if we wanted to make the top two, we needed to beat them.”
The third quarter proved decisive for the Kangas in a four-goal-to-one stanza.
“We knew we had to sustain our intensity and maximise the breeze at our backs in that quarter, and we did,” Vallance said.
“But we couldn’t just rely (on a 16-point) lead going into the final quarter, and that goal we kicked in the final term helped us get over the line.”
He said there was “a lot of excitement” about the blend of experience and youth coming through the club’s ranks.
“We debuted another young boy today, Dusty O’Shannessy,” Vallance said. “He played with his cousin Jack, who’s also 15.
“It’s a really good sign for where our footy club is at. We have these young blokes coming into the team and playing their role well for us.
“(South Australian recruits) Dallas (Willsmore), Kaine (Stevens) and Cory (Gregson) were unbelievable today. I could see all of them rise to another level at times.
“They read the game so well. They knew they needed to stand up, and they did. That’s why they are superstar footballers. They stand up when it counts.”
Swallows captain Zac Wandin rued his side’s missed opportunities.
“We just didn’t get things going our way,” he said.
“Goals that we usually convert, we were missing. And we needed to be a bit more reactive when the opportunities presented to us.
“We just had to make the most of our chances with the wind in that last quarter.”
Nevertheless, he was proud of the team’s performance without Coghlan and prolific goal scorer Nick Pezzaniti ahead of this weekend’s next big test against unbeaten Wentworth.
“We get the two biggest challenges for the rest of the year and we’ll see where we’re at, especially without ‘Cogs’ who is a major out,” Wandin said.
“But we’re still right up there with the best of them. We’ve just got to find our feet without Cogs.”
