A long range point after the siren from the trusty boot of ruckman Zac Smith has helped Gold Coast Football Club to a thrilling one point win over Essendon-aligned Bendigo Bombers in Cairns this afternoon.
An inspirational game from home town hero Charlie Dixon and stirring second half performances from tireless teenage midfielders Maverick Weller and David Swallow helped GCFC turn around a forty point half time deficit to register a sensational come from behind victory in front of more than 4000 Cairns locals at Cazaly Stadium.
What finished so well had started terribly for GCFC with Bendigo banging on the game’s first two goals without raising a sweat to race to an unlikely into-the-wind lead.
It took Redlynch-raised Charlie Dixon to lift his side’s flagging spirits when he marked strongly on the grandstand flank. With the wind at his back he nailed a beautiful 55 metre bomb to register his side’s first major. He should have made it two in a minute, but missed badly moments later from close range.
At the other end, Bendigo could do no wrong. In an impressively disciplined display the accurate Bombers’ kicked 6.1 to lead by a formidable five goals at quarter time.
GCFC needed to lift in the second term and although the early signs were promising, failure to convert was hurting. Young Tom Nicholls had a chance to steal a perfect start for his side but his close range shot running into an open goal slammed into the post for a point. Bendigo made GCFC pay by pouncing on a spilt Karmichael Hunt finger-tipper to kick away once more.
Although GCFC’s increased effort had gone some way to nullifying Bendigo’s potency up forward, the home side had little to show for its toil until late into the quarter when Brandon Matera worked one back on the breeze to give the home side at least some form of momentum going into half time.
Still, the Bombers remained in control to the tune of 40 points at the main break and GCFC was in desperate need of a spark.
It arrived soon after the resumption in the form of livewire forward Alik Magin who raised local hopes with a clever intercept and cool conversion. Soon after David Swallow nailed one from long range and GCFC, on the back of some dominant stoppage work and quality chase and tackle, had suddenly sprung to life.
When a slice of Brandon Matera magic saw the home side nail its third in four minutes the big Cairns crowd was beginning to sense a comeback.
And rightly so.
With the margin narrowed to 22 and the men in red pressing with real urgency, it was well and truly game on.
Bendigo clawed one back against the run to settle momentarily, but a strong grab by Jesse Haberfield set up a surge down the grandstand wing and Mathew Fowler finished well to maintain the home side’s rage. To rapturous applause, the Cairns connection of Dixon and Rex Liddy combined for GCFC’s ninth minutes later. And just when the now buzzing crowd thought things couldn’t be topped, a bullock-like David Swallow split open a pack at full pelt, regathered cleanly and beat three defenders to thread through an absolute gem. Almost straight away the steady Sam Iles converted some more great GCFC forward hustle to further shrink the margin in the shadows of three quarter time.
With the crowd now smelling blood and GCFC with its tail well and truly up, the game was set for a classic finish.
The last quarter started to script for the home side when Grayson classily completed a great running effort. And when Magin kicked his side’s eleventh minutes later, GCFC had somehow managed to not only haul in a 40 point half time deficit but push its way in front for the first time all day. Bendigo levelled things up again soon enough, but when Dixon banged on two in a row to give GCFC a two goal break with seven minutes to play things were looking good. Zac Smith had the chance to ice the game seconds later, but his shot slid left and the Bombers, perhaps sensing a window opening, mustered a late flurry to draw level deep into time on.
With both teams out on their feet it was looking for all money like GCFC’s second draw of the year until the ball fell free from a contest and an unflappable Hayden Jolly managed to find an unmarked Zac Smith forty metres out on a forty five degree angle.
He was at the back of his run up when the final siren sounded.
Any score would win the game.
Despite a stiff breeze and the pressure of the moment Smith’s kick carried the journey for the necessary point and GCFC, thrillingly, had snuck home.
GCFC 1.1 (7) 2.5 (17) 9.9 (63) 13.12 (90)
Bendigo Bombers 6.1 (37) 9.3 (57) 11.7 (73) 13.11 (89)
Goals: Dixon 3 Swallow 2 Matera 2 Magin 2 Liddy Grayson Fowler Iles (and Z Smith one very important point)
Best: Swallow, Weller, Dixon, Smith, McKenzie, Iles
Last Modified on 05/08/2010 16:09