Match Report v Lions | Round 9

03/06/2019

Sandringham:   3.1   4.7   6.11   9.14  (68)
Coburg:              1.5   2.7   5.8     8.10  (58)
 

Disposals: White 26, Gilbert 25, Hannebery 24, Answerth 20, Fox 20, Armitage 20 & Langlands 20.
Goals: King 3, Fox 2, Haidon, Mayo, Batten & Langlands.

After a late scare, Sandringham defeat a tenacious Coburg outfit and hold on to our spot in the top eight.

Coburg started the game off strongly, winning the ball in the centre and kicking the first goal from a Podhajski set shot.

The Lions looked lively going forward and made it difficult for us to clear the ball from defence. Their tackling pressure was exemplary early.

Despite their dominance, Coburg couldn’t make the most of some early opportunities and King made them pay, launching a set shot from behind the arc for our first of the day.

We had ridden the early storm and began to find space. White off the wing launched one long into King, who took a big mark and slotted his second.

Scoring slowed after the initial flurry, with both teams locking down and tackling strongly. It took some imagination to break the deadlock with Fox collecting the loose ball and snapping over his head for our third.

At the end of the quarter, we led by eight points. Our handballing and running game had been on display, with Hannebery, Fox and Hille featuring prominently.

We started the second quarter brightly, but failed to capitalise on some difficult chances. Coburg made the most of theirs, slotting the first of the second quarter.

King caused problems for Coburg’s defence taking marks and bringing the ball to ground. However, he missed two set shots, keeping Coburg within touching distance.

The Lions found the goals late in the second, after we gave away a 100 metre penalty, giving them an easy goal. However, we answered back just before the siren, when King converted his set shot.

We went into the main break with a twelve point lead. Hannebery was running hot with 19 disposals, whilst Gilbert, White and Hille were also impressive. King was showing why he was a top five draft pick, booting three first half goals. 

The beginning of the third quarter belonged to Coburg, as they found confidence and space. They opened the scoring within the first two minutes, forcing the turnover and kicking long to McEvoy who had snuck out the back.

Coburg kicked the next two goals, as Stroobants slotted one from the arc and snapped another from a tight angle. This gave Coburg a six point lead.

After Coburg's purple patch, we managed to wrestle the lead back. The debutant, Jack Mayo, slotted his first career goal for Sandringham, from a set shot. Langlands then gave us the lead, when he intercepted a poor kick and snapped the goal.

We not only regained the lead, but also the momentum, as we began to dictate possession. But, like the first half, our goal kicking was letting us down.

Mayo had a chance to extend our lead after the siren, but missed the set shot. We went into the last term with a nine point lead. Answerth had a strong quarter, whilst Mayo and King looked like a dangerous double act up forward.

We looked the stronger side early in the fourth, with Batten getting us off the mark when he kicked his debut goal.

Coburg kicked their first eleven minutes into the last, using a quick chain of handballs to break through our defence and set up an easy shot at goal. The margin was now nine points.

We managed to answer back quickly, as Seaton found Haidon over the back for his first of the day!

Coburg dragged one back when Donaghey snapped from long range. The Lions increased the pressure late when Podhajski jagged his second for the day, cutting the margin to four points.

We gave ourselves some breathing room, when King centred to Fox who made no mistake, slotting his set shot. The siren went soon afterwards as we ran out 10 point winners and held our spot in the eight.

A solid display with plenty of positive performances. King started strong and could have easily finished with six goals, whilst Answerth, Gilbert, White and Fox were strong contributors. Hannebery also showed plenty, racking up 25 disposals in three quarters of footy.

We have the bye next week, giving the boys a well earned rest. We return to action on Sunday June 16, when we take on Werribee at Wilson Storage TBBO.