Robinvale Euston 3.1 3.4 6.7 11.12 (78)
Ouyen United 3.3 4.8 9.10 9.14 (68)
BEST: ROBINVALE EUSTON: Jake Calvert, Antonio Mezzatesta, James Zappia, Isaiah Johnson, Colby Mannix, OUYEN UNITED: Alex Morrish, Dallas Willsmore, Brad Vallance, Simon Brown, Todd Barker, Samuel Mead.
GOALS: ROBINVALE EUSTON: Isaiah Johnson, 4, Braidyn Turner, unnamed player, 2, Jake Calvert, Hayden Egerton, James Zappia, 1. OUYEN UNITED: Dallas Willsmore, 3, Brad Vallance, 2, Jermarl Daly, Alex Morrish, Heath Smith, Kaine Stevens 1.
COURTESY of a barnstorming five-goal final quarter, Robinvale Euston was able to snatch victory in an enthralling clash at John James Oval against fellow finals contender Ouyen United.
For most of the game, the home team had two available players on the bench. Key midfielder Justin Marriott suffered an opening quarter hamstring injury, while Ethan Gill had an enforced early shower after a red card incident which occurred at the 19-minute mark.
So when Ouyen United had stretched their lead to 21 points at the last break, few would have foreseen the impending blitz coming. For the Eagles to absorb the adversity of missing key personnel and overcoming wearier legs made their victory meritorious.
Robinvale coach Andrew Richardson believes his group continues to develop as a unit.
“To have two players down for the majority of the day and 17 players for a portion as well, for the boys to find a way to get back in the contest, I thought we really grew today,” he said.
The Kangas had the better of the first half, leading most of the critical stats but couldn’t ultimately convert their dominance into any significant scoreboard advantage.
When outnumbered due to the Gill red card, the Eagles were able to turn the game into a scrap, preventing the visitors from getting a run on. Ouyen United was only able to score one goal during this 15-minute phase on either side of quarter time and this period of doggedness essentially kept Robinvale Euston in the game. The halftime margin was a manageable ten points.
When United kicked four of the first five goals in the opening ten minutes of the third quarter to build a 28-point buffer, it appeared they had ironed out their forward half inefficiencies and had broken the home team’s spirit.
However, one gets the feeling there is an inner belief and a heart within that drives this Robinvale group that suggests they never think they are out of a game.
Isaiah Johnson is one of the leaders who epitomises such spirit. Well beaten and held goalless by Tim Gloster in the first half, Johnson was moved into the midfield at the beginning of the third term. While he didn’t have an enormous impact as an onballer, the move did ignite his confidence. When moved back into the forward line, Izzy converted consecutive goals to wrest back some control and instil his teammates’ belief that they were still a winning chance.
After the game, Richardson said there was an inner resolve within the club, and all players were buying in.
“You can definitely feel that blokes are just so willing to work hard for each other now,” he said.
“When the senior team performs like that and fights out a gutsy game, it’s just a better place to be around as a club. We’ve got some good feelings here. We’ve got some momentum, and we’re going to try and keep it going through to the end of the year.
Both teams like to expose their opposition with their run and spread. For three quarters, Ouyen United were the better exponents of this; however, Robinvale was scintillating with their ball movement in the last quarter. By winning the ball at the source, the Eagles denied the Kangas the opportunity to transition the ball, and in turn, their ability to run the lines and work for each other was the catalyst to their stirring come-from-behind win.
Richardson willed his team to take the game on at three-quarter time. ‘When we’re at our best, we’re up and going and breaking lines; that was the instruction to the group at three-quarter time; we weren’t going to die wondering; it was all or nothing, and they executed that really well.’
Ouyen United coach Scott Grigg was pragmatic in assessing his team’s efforts after the game. “Our missed opportunities; we didn’t reward ourselves for effort in the first half. We were winning stats; we just didn’t reward ourselves on the scoreboard. We did that in the third quarter, kicking five goals to put us in a good position at three-quarter time, but our last quarter was disappointing. They outworked us, and we couldn’t stop their momentum.”
Both teams will use the last home and away game to fine-tune their game before they meet again in what promises to be a mouth-watering Elimination Final in the first week of the finals.
