For the first time in 6 weeks, the Inverell Saints took to the road looking for their first away win of the season against the New England Nomads. The match loomed as a crucial battle for both teams, a loss would end any hope of a top 2 finish, but a win would keep the dream well and truly alive. The Saints were dealt a blow just prior to the game starting when top recruit Peter Heath was ruled out with an ankle injury.
The weather conditions were not conducive to great footy, however the Saints started the match full of determination and kicked the first 3 goals of the contest, all through fantastic lead up work through the midfield. Despite a settler from the Nomads, the Saints went on to kick the next 5 and went into the break 39 points to the good, a lead that was always going to be hard to pull in considering the conditions.
The Nomads however refused to give in, and took control of the match in the second. They looked sharper than the Saints, who seemed to clock off a little through the quarter, and only a couple of nice snaps kept them with a nice lead at the half. An injury to young gun Mick Corcoran during the quarter didn't help, as the young star was on fire early, kicking 3 first half goals and cleaning up plenty of loose ball in the forward line.
During the third the Saints took back the match and all but sealed the win when they kicked 3 quick goals in the quarter. The run of the Nomads, which was usually a feature of their game was nullified through some brilliant efforts from Tom Williams and Beau Ryan in the middle, whilst Darren Pithers was proving how versatile he is by controlling the game at full back. The Saints took a comfortable 10 goal lead into the last change with the mood in the camp very positive.
The Nomads came out hard in the last, looking to get back in the game and did so, kicking three quick goals, however the Saints slowly took back control of the contest and dominated most of the quarter. Only wayward kicking towards the end of the match kept the margin from less than 10 goals, but overall it was a solid performance from the Saints.
Amazingly, for the second time in three weeks, the win saw the Saints drop a spot on the ladder to fourth, but in a three way log jam on 20 points with the Roos and the Dogs, who upset ladder leaders the Swans to keep the race alive for top spot. THis makes next week's trip to Gunnedah all the more important for the Saints, who will need to keep winning to stay in the finals hunt.
Final Score: Inverell Saints 16.20.116 def
New England Nomads 9.8.62
Last Modified on 28/06/2009 18:26