The Inverell Saints hae lost threir second round match of the 2009 CETAFL competition by 50 points to the Tamworth Swans at Number 1 Oval. The Saints have now slumped to 5th position on the premeirship ladder, the first time they have not been in the top 4 in 3 seasons. It also counts as the Saints third consecutive loss counting back to last year's Grand Final, the first time such an event has happened in the history of the Inverell Saints Football Club.
The Saints entered the match with 6 changes from the Round 1 loss and looked to get off to a strong start against the Swans. After conceeding an early goal, new recruit Peter Heath pulled down a screamer and goaled to reply quickly for the Saints. The Saints were hurt when both Bruce Wall and Will Kenny went down with injury in the first 10 minutes of the match and could only use 2 replacements on the bench for the rest of the match. Saints officials are looking into the incident with Wall, who left the field with a broken eye socket, whilst Kenny could be facing some time on the sidelines with ligament damage to his knee. But despite having a fair share of possession, the Saints could not put any pressure on the Swans on the scoreboard, and with the use of the wind, the Swans went into the quarter time break with a 2 goal buffer.
The Saints started the second well and again had more than their fair share of the ball, but a couple of missed chances hurt them, especially when the Swans kicked truly at the other end. Just as it was in Rund 1, the Saints let the game slip in a 10 minute burst where the Swans totally dominated and kicked away to what would prove to be a match winning lead.
Despite trying hard, the Saints could not bridge the gap between themselves and the Swans, who has an answer for every Saint attack. The defensive end of the Saints game was strong at times, but the constant streams forward were too much to contain and the Saints found themselves 65 points down midway through the last quarter before some late consolation goals made the socer look a little more respectable.
Heath was outstanding on debut and he showed that he is a class above, ending the game with 5 goals and a best on ground performance for the Saints. Jack Lawton was outstanding was again, as were Beau Ryan and Joe Kimmince. Keiran Te Velde showed some promise in his first game of AFL and should be an important player as the yer progresses.
The Saints are now faced with the possibility of going 0 and 3 to start the year if they cannot get over the top of the table Nomads at home this weekend.
Last Modified on 10/05/2009 21:45