Tigers rue missed chances

RED Cliffs coach Chris Lee says his side would have won against fourth-placed Robinvale Euston on Saturday, but missed too many opportunities for goal.

The seventh-placed team proved they were a team not be taken lightly when they met the Eagles at Quandong Park at the weekend.

However, despite Red Cliffs’ competitive performance, which had them leading at half-time, Robinvale Euston were able to sneak ahead to secure the round 13 win.

Lee said his team had a slow start, kicking four behinds in the first quarter to Robinvale Euston’s 5.4.

“In the first quarter we were sort of kicking into the wind and I think, as well, we kicked four points, where if we had’ve kicked goals, we would’ve been in a better position,” he said.

“But I thought we held them up pretty well with the wind and then the last couple of minutes of the quarter we let them get a few easy goals.”

Firing back in the second quarter, kicking six goals and nine behinds to the Eagles’ one goal, Lee said his side had more opportunities than their opponent and should have been able to extended their lead further.

“I think we had 13 shots at goal that quarter and only kicked six goals so it could’ve even been better had we finished off our work.”

Lee said despite not being able to follow through and take the win, knowing that the team gave themselves more opportunities than Robinvale Euston proved they could be competitive against the top teams.

“We had a lot more shots and a lot more of the ball so that give us a bit of confidence that we can match it with a good side. We really should’ve won the game, we thought.

“I think we have a lot of motivation to finish off the season well and actually take a couple of (late-round games) out.

“That would be a big boost for us moving forward as a young team, really looking forward to the challenge.

“We definitely have a couple of winnable games. We’ve shown last time we played Irymple, we matched them, just didn’t kick straight.”

Robinvale Euston coach Andrew Richardson said Red Cliffs were a very competitive side and showed this during the second quarter.

“We were really strong in the first quarter and definitely got it on our terms and there was a slight breeze so we knew we probably had to go in ahead,” he said.

“In the second quarter they just seemed to trap it in their half and we struggled to get it out – they played some pretty good footy.

“Once they got a bit of a roll on they were pretty hard to stop. There is definitely a promising future for them.”

Richardson said he thought Red Cliffs might have lost their legs in the second half, allowing his side to improve their performance and get ahead.

“We went in at half-time trailing but came out with a plan and luckily executed,” he said.

“I think we were a little bit reactive with our pressure. We went to a bit of basics and once we got some space and time we started moving it freely and got it into our forward and gave us the best chance at scoring.”

Richardson said the Eagles’ back line performed well, especially in the second quarter, when Red Cliffs dominated the ball.

“(The back line) got bombarded with about 20 inside 50 entries,” he said.

He said Colby Mannix and Jake Calvert were key players for his side.

Richardson said no team could be taken lightly and every game was important if the Eagles wanted to remain in the top four come finals time.

The team this week take on bottom-of-the-ladder South Mildura and hope to take home another win to secure their ladder position.

“We probably identified after the Merbein loss that every single week is vital to get a win because it might secure our spot in the top four,” he said.

“We don’t underestimate (South). They have been around the mark a few times so we are going into this game knowing how important it is for us to get some breathing space in that fourth spot.”