SANDRINGHAM's 13-goal to three second half cemented a tough win against the Bendigo Gold at Trevor Barker Beach Oval. After the Zebras struggled early, kicking seven behinds before their first goal, they dominated the second half to keep their finals chances alive with a 75-point victory, as Nick Ciantar reports.
The Zebras had come off an impressive win against Williamstown and were looking at bringing the same mentality against the winless Gold. Bendigo wanted to prove everyone wrong and kept the Zebras goalless in the first quarter, leading by 15 points at the first break.
Playmaker Alik Margin (25 disposals, 2 goals) was crucial to the Gold’s early lead, including six touches and one goal in the first quarter. The Zebra’s midfield engine was slow to begin, but Tom Ledger, Seb Ross and Myke Cook all had 10 disposals in a frantic first quarter.
The wind was causing havoc for both teams and the Zebras could not adapt quickly enough to their home ground bay winds. Sandringham began to get on top of the game in the second quarter and kicked three goals in a row. The Gold only managed the one goal and the Zebras started to get their hands on the football.
Sandringham’s third quarter efforts broke the Gold’s dam wall. The Zebras dominated the quarter with four goals to the Gold’s two, but they managed to kick six behinds. The margin blew out to 24 points at the last change of ends, but the Zebras had not put the nail on the Gold’s coffin.
McPhee revved up his charges for one last time and the Zebras went bang.
Sandringham kicked nine goals in the last quarter including an impressive 60 metre long-bomb goal from Pat Tiernan. The Zebras carved up the Gold’s midfield and Dunell kept Magin quiet.
Sandringham senior coach Simon McPhee spoke after the match and he was happy the team made the adjustments necessary after a poor first half.
“We got beaten inside for the first half. We won that part of the game in the second half … [and] that enabled us to start getting the ball into some space and we started to lower our eyes,” McPhee told True Zebras.
“We were sort of kicking it long to their numbers a lot early. When we got a little bit more composed with the ball, then we started to hit the scoreboard.”
While happy with the second half, he was disappointed players frequently blazed away during the afternoon.
“You can blaze away into the breeze and get the ball into dangerous parts of the ground that are hard to defend. Likewise if you blaze away with the breeze, you can pretty much kick it to their numbers.”
Sam Dunell (23 disposals, 2 goals), Ross (31 disposals) and Ledger (29 disposals, 2 goals) got plenty of the ball and helped deliver to the forward targets such as Spencer White (2 goals), Hamish Shepheard (15 disposals) and Ahmed Saad (1 goal).
Adam Schneider (23 disposals) returned to Sandringham for his first game in over two months and played just over two quarter’s. His smart ball use and experience helped the team in the second half and he finished the game well.
Terry Milera (22 disposals, 1 goal) was another midfielder that used his silky run-and-carry but at times blazed away. Cook (16 disposals) and Dunell (23 disposals, 2 goals) worked in tandem across half-back, while Darren Minchington (16 disposals, 2 goals) proved to be hard to stop in the forward line.
Cam Shenton (28 disposals, 2 goals) played in many positions but predominately the midfield and he demolished the Gold.
However, Sandringham will be sweating this week after Milera was stretchered off in the third quarter with suspected ankle injury. After an eye-catching display, he was taken from the ground after a tackle.
For the Gold and their coach Austinn Jones, Daniel Toman (29 disposals) and Jake Aarts (12 disposals) were stand-outs in the midfield as they used their run and efficient ball use all day. Long-haired Magin finished with the two goals and assisted his very young team mates with his composure under pressure.
Sandringham meets top of the ladder Geelong at home next Sunday, while Bendigo travel to Windy Hill on Saturday to meet Essendon.
Photo: Dave Savell
Last Modified on 22/07/2013 13:40