R08: Seniors lost by 42, Reserves lost by 65

13th June 2009

Seniors

 

 

Coming back after a week off for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, the Old Mentonians made the long trip out to Sunbury to take on the undefeated Rupertswood. The Old Mentonians didn’t play their best football and consequently went down to the top side. Despite the loss, the Panthers remain in third spot on the ladder.

 

 

The Old Mentonians had the first use of a handy breeze, although scoring was possible at both ends of the ground. Within 5 minutes of the start of the game, the Panthers were a man down when Keifer Smith-Cameron tore a hamstring. The first quarter was a generally close affair with the Panthers tackling well and applying pressure to the runners of Rupertswood. The Old Mentonians went to the first break with a three point lead.

 

 

The first half of the second quarter was quite scrappy as both sides made skill errors particularly with delivery into the forward lines. Rupertswood started to get on top half way through the quarter when they began to win the clearances to feed their running players. Rupertswood kicked three quick goals on their way to five for the quarter, despite the efforts of Anthony Palmer on the home side’s key forward. Rupertswood went to half time with a five goal advantage.

 

 

The Old Mentonians were asked for a greater defensive effort at the half time break. Man-on-man was the direction from the coach for the start of the second half. The Panthers started better in the third quarter but missed a couple of shots for goal. Chris Graham, who had been switched to the forward line, tried to spark the Old Mentonians with a great tackle and goal. Rupertswood managed to hit back though and despite Rupertswood being a man down for the last half of the quarter after a send-off, the Panthers were not able to string multiple goals together. The Old Mentonians went to the final change still 30 points behind.

 

 

The two sides exchanged goals for the first twenty minutes of the final quarter. Every time the Old Mentonians scored a goal, Rupertswood managed a reply to keep the margin at five goals. Rupertswood kicked the final two goals of the game when the contest was over to push the final margin out to seven goals.

 

 

Next week the Old Mentonians will be looking to get back on the winners list when they take on Prahran at the Keysborough Playing Fields.

 

 

 

 

OMFC:                       3.2       3.3       7.6       9.9       (63)

 

 

Rupertswood:           2.5       7.9       11.12  15.15  (105)

 

 

 

 

Best:  Palmer, Graham, Ball, Thompson, Fairbanks, Speers, Carroll

 

 

Goals: Thompson 3, Norton 2, Graham 2, Kinsella, Hecker

 

 

 

 

Reserves

 

 

Old Mentonians made the long trip out to Sunbury with a side severely depleted by illness and injury. In fact were to play with only 17 men and a couple of those were not 100% fit. This was going to be a tough assignment against one of the top teams.

 

 

The match went largely as expected with the home side generally dominating the play for the first three quarters. The Panthers did try valiantly in those three quarters but it was a huge task.

 

 

With the game over at three quarter time the call was to win the last quarter against the odds. The boys showed fight to achieve this, led by a couple of goals from Bernie Coghlan and the continued efforts of Ben Parker and Chris Alexander.

 

 

OMFC:                       1.1       1.2       2.5       6.6       (42)

 

 

Rupertswood:           6.6       7.14    11.18  14.23  (107)

 

 

Best:  Parker, C. Alexander, Coghlan, S. Alexander, D. Alexander, S. Rooke

 

 

Goals:  Coghlan 3, R. Alexander, Gartner, Jenkins