The Curra Swans gave up a 3 goal lead early in the last quarter to be pipped at the post by the barest of margins by arch rivals Hermit Park at Neil French Oval last Saturday.
In a scrappy affair that saw both sides trade goals for most of the match it was the Swans who had edged 3 goals ahead early in the final term after having a 2 goal lead at the final break. Another milestone appeared to be in reach for the Swans who were close to beating the Tigers on their turf. The Swans had won the last outing at Muldoon and had set their sights firmly on upsetting their neighbours at home. The match was close all day but when the Swans kicked the first goal of the last term to be 20 points clear it seemed a very real possibility the Swans would reach their goal.
The Tigers went physical in the last with some shocking off the ball incidents going unseen and together with their newly adopted man on man tactics they pegged the Swans back. Three goals later and the Tigers were in front by 2 points and time became the enemy for the Swans.
Eventually the head high hits got noticed by the officials and young Dominic Stout-Milkens had a shot to put the Swans back in front. The kick was good the accuracy was good and through it went. Unfortunately for the Swans it was deemed to be marked inside the line when it was clearly over, but that’s footy. Some decisions go your way and some don’t. The goal umpire clearly thought it was short and called it as such. The drama didn’t end there as Dominic again found the footy in his hands with in range. This time he elected to pass to the leading forward Maslin Braun and it was punched clear by the Tigers defence. The clock was ticking but the Swans wouldn’t give up and another mark was taken inside fifty. The kick unfortunately drifted with the wind to the left and a point was added. It was now 1 point the difference but one sensed it was too late and as the Tigers cleared the fifty from the kick in the siren sounded and the Swans were left ruing what might have been.
Coach Peter Young held nothing back in the rooms in his appraisal of the match and told his young charges that the effort wasn’t good enough. Might seem a bit tough on such a young group but Young was dead right. Once upon a time the Swans would have been proud of a 1 point loss but not anymore. There was silence in the rooms and the pain of defeat was evident amongst the players. Poor decision making and a bit of panic when it got tough cost the Swans a game they should have won. How much it cost will unfold over the final 4 rounds with the Swans now having to win every game to claim second spot and rely on other results to go their way.
HERMIT PARK 11 11 77
CURRA SWANS 11 10 76
Goal Kickers: T. Neal 3, N. Wescombe 3, D. Noonan 2, B. Clark , M. Braun , M. Chambers
Best Players: D. Bycroft, D. Stout-Milkins, J. Ruzzier, B. Clark, A. McDonald
Last Modified on 28/07/2011 10:50