On arriving at the battlefield on Saturday, I am sure Scoresby would have been dismayed to see the state it was in. Significant rain during the week had made the Mullum Reserve Oval "heavy" to say the least. Mud and pools of water were in abundance, accompanied by a less than pleasant smell. To the visitors, it would have been unappealing, perhaps resembling a "Moat" - making their attempts at invasion even more difficult, while to the home side, desperate to retain their unbeaten record at "The Fortress" it was a welcome additional ally.
The game started as most Norwood games do - tight and tough with players from both sides throwing themselves in with reckless abandon. Clearly the message going out to opposition sides is that if you want to beat Norwood - the best defensive side in the competition - you have to beat them at contested ball. Many sides try, and Scoresby were having their crack. The conditions made repeated stoppages the 'norm', and early on, Scoresby were probably winning the majority of these scrums. The few clean passages of play came from them, but the conditions, and our defensive structures, were keeping them at bay. One short kick in to the full-forward line found its target and was converted, and at qtr time Scoresby held a small, but deserved lead 1.1.7 to our 0.2.2.
The 2nd quarter saw us kick downhill to the outer end, consistently the scoring end in matches at Mullum Reserve this year. Slowly, we began to break even in the stoppages and contested ball, and then, almost immeasurably, began to get on top. We inched the ball forward, and a skewed kick of our own - travelling less distance that was expected, was marked 15m out by Paul Maaskant, who duly converted to give us back the lead. The rain then hit, and play became even more congested and scrappy as clean ball handling was made virtually impossible. We scrambled it forward to our goal square where Kris Nye was able to toepoke one through - a vital 2nd goal and we skipped out to an 8 point lead. Soon after, we managed to get the ball out into space on the far wing where Brenter's hard running found him unmanned. He handballed, overlapped for the receive and then kicked forward, where the ball spilled back up field. Following up on his own play, he handled cleanly and put the ball on his boot round the body from 40m. The end on end snap had a beautiful shape to it, landing in the goalsquare and rolling straight through the guts - an undoubted "play of the day". We'd now scored 3 goals in a row and once again held a team goalless - in fact scoreless - for a quarter as the lead was out to 16 points at half-time; 3.5 - 1.1.
At half-time President Jethro welcomed the Scoresby officials into the rooms alongside the Norwood faithful and graciously apologised for the state of the ground. Hopefully, the 2 local officials also in attendance took note and can assist us in improving this feature of our club, it really is a must. Back onto the field after half-time we continued to pour the pressure on Scoresby, who could not improve on their solitary goal. We were forcing it forward, contest by contest, until a quick kick created another loose ball in the goalsquare which was booted through off the ground, this time by Jake Ford. Our intensity around the ball was clearly winning the fight and Scoresby was losing interest, all their efforts to penetrate the "Fortress" and its newly formed "Moat" were proving fruitless. With a clean passage of play we worked it into the notorious "dead pocket" where Matt McCormack, welcomed back after a 10 week stint on the sidelines - marked. His cool left foot conversion was well celebrated and really spelled the end for Scoresby's hopes as we'd moved out to a 28 point lead. The 3/4 siren rang with the scoreboard reading 5.7.37 - 1.3.9.
In the last quarter both sides were physically spent. No-one could muster the speed and run for a clear passage of play. The ball spent long periods in the middle of the ground at repeat stoppages. Scoresby outscored us, but only by two measly points, and when the siren rang at the 23 minute mark, we were resounding 26 point victors 5.7.37 - 1.5.11. We had held Scoresby goalless in 3 consecutive quarters, a remarkable effort, even given the poor conditions. Best players were hard to find on a day where skills were put on hold and grunt was the key ingredient. That said, Jesse Newman, Zak Carroll and Matt Decler were sensational down back while Jake Ford was like a bulldozer in the middle, moving plenty of earth to get the ball going our way. Matt McCormacks effort's up forward, presenting and contesting, went a long way to winning the game also.
The win is a vital one for our boys, quickly erasing last weeks loss. Another win against a potential finalist sits nicely alongside previous wins over Balwyn and Noble Park. We sit 2nd on the ladder, level with Vermont on points and one game clear of Balwyn 3rd, Scoresby 4th and Noble 5th. But it is very tight, so winning each week remains a must if we are to hold down a top3 finish and the vital "double chance". Our unbeaten record at home at "The Fortress" remains intact - is up to 7 straight now - when will the EFL scribes acknowledge it one wonders??. We have another challenge next week against E.Burwood, who we beat easily earlier in the year but who are in resurgent form themselves, knocking over Balwyn in a big upset this week. The match is once again at "The Fortress", and its "President's Lunch" day, so lets hope for a big crowd and fine conditions for another crucial match in this very interesting and highly entertaining season.
Go Wooders.
Last Modified on 13/09/2012 11:07