Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
WHITEFRIARS 5.2 5.5 7.9 9.11-65
OLD MENTONIANS 3.0 7.3 11.5 14.5-89
Goal Kickers: M. Mirabella 3, A. Brosolo, G. Kennedy, B. Stafford, C. Smith, J. Scannell, J. Piltz
Best Players: C. Smith, N. Cunningham, J. O'Meara, B. Stafford, B. Janson, G. Kennedy
"The Rub of the Green"
Sometimes it's with you and others it ain't - Saturday was one of those incredible times when the rub of the green be it an awkward bounce, rebound from a player's boot, narrow misses on goal etc etc was not with the mighty Friars!! However we persisted and persisted and after having a goal that would have seen us 2 points adrift reversed and Old Mentonians take the ball coast to coast for a 14 point lead, we finally succumbed.
The game opened in great fashion with game rebounding from end to end at the smallish Keysborough ground and with OM's stacking numbers akin to a small African country in their backline! However we were able to free up numbers higher up the ground and kick over the top of their blockers to good effect and ended the quarter 5 goals to 3 up. Michael Mirabella was proving a handful for the OM defenders and we got great run from our smaller players culminating in another running long bomb from back pocket Cale Smith. Janson and Cunningham dominated the midfield and ensured that our forwards got plenty of supply.
The 2nd quarter saw OM slip into gear very quickly and our lead was obliterated within 5 minutes. We continued to scrap hard but OM were able to free up experienced campaigners in Hecker and Teasdale who kicked 3 of OM's 4 goals for the quarter and held us to 3 points which proved to be the decisive quarter for them.
At half time the boys committed to increasing their work rate and they did exactly that which resulted in us dominating the first half of the quarter but for all the play we had we couldn't get the result on the board and OM in contrast were able to counter attack and score with ease! O'Meara, Scannell and Kennedy were proving a real handful for OM while Smith in the back pocket was giving us strong rebound.
At 1/4 time we were 20 points down but the look in the guys eyes left me thinking that the game was a long way from over. A strong start by us with an early goal was quickly followed by another after Mirabella barged his way through a pack to lay off a handball Scannell. This left us 8 points behind and closing fast as we dominated the game and held out OM until a centering ball was kicked to the top of the goal square where Mirabella stood strong and held his ground and wheeled around to bang it through for his 4th! Disaster as the man in white plucked a free from the situation and OM went straight down and thrust a knife into our heart with a "coast to coast" goal, wind was well and truly out of our sails!!
Anyway we played with great commitment and on another day we would have won the same game by 4 goals, Friars 20 scoring shots OM 19 says it all - it's a tough thing the rub of the green!!
Last Modified on 18/06/2009 19:10