THOMASTOWN survived a late Fitzroy Stars comeback to continue its remarkable undefeated streak in a nail-biting ANZAC Day clash at Main Street Reserve.
After trailing by 32 points halfway through the last term, the Stars accelerated to kick the next four goals as an amazing comeback looked on the cards.
However it wasn’t enough as Thomastown held on to record a 15.9 (99) to 14.8 (92) victory.
The win sees the Bears move to the Division 2 table – a remarkable effort after moving up from Division 3 this year. Whereas a second successive close loss for the Stars – last year’s beaten grand finalist – sees them fall out of the top four.
ANZAC Day seemed to be the perfect stage for the two sides with both Fitzroy and Thomastown producing exciting and competitive football throughout the four quarters.
The beginning of the game was the perfect start for Thomastown with Jacob Osei-Duro taking a great contested mark and sealing the first goal of the game.
Thomastown’s many contested marks were killing Fitzroy, but three first-quarter goals from Daniel Francis kept the Stars in the contest during the term.
Quarter time saw both teams locked at 3.2(20) apiece. Bears coach Dean Sinclair was encouraging Osei-Duro to continue flying for the big grabs at the break.
The two teams were still very competitive in the second quarter, but costly Fitzroy mistakes resulted in the Bears taking advantage on the scoreboard.
The rain began to fall late in the second and it was starting to affect both teams disposal efficiency.
Despite this, Francis and Djaran Whyman both kicked late majors to reduce the Stars deficit to nine points at half time.
The third quarter saw Fitzroy start to take control of the game as they began applying immense pressure on Thomastown.
Led by the voice of Djaran Whyman and the goals of Francis, Fitzroy kicked three of the first four majors of the quarter to take the lead from the home side.
But just as it fell behind, Thomastown began to respond to Fitzroy’s dominance.
Another major from Osei-Duro and two excellent goals from recruit Matthew Ferraro gave the lead back to the Bears as they headed into three quarter time ahead by 14 points.
Fitzroy coach Travis Hodgson was not giving up hope at the last change, telling his team to continue to attack in the final quarter.
The last quarter began with an early soccer goal from Thomastown’s David Wall. That was followed by an exchange of goals from Francis and Ferraro.
The Bears managed to extend their lead to what looked a match-winning 32 points before Francis kicked his eighth goal for the game as the Stars began to come back from a seemingly impossible deficit.
Another two quick Stars majors were followed by a great contested mark and goal from Clinton Edwards to bring the margin back to just six points.
Unfortunately for the Stars, time was against them as Thomastown was able to clinch a memorable seven-point point victory.
Both sides’ key forwards were impressive throughout the entire match. Thomastown’s Osei-Duro kicked seven goals while Ferraro finished with a handy bag of six.
For Fitzroy, Francis kicked a season-high eight to keep the Stars in the contest while Djaran Whyman kicked two crucial goals as well as providing his team with plenty of encouragement and leadership.
The Bears have another tough assignment in Round 4 when they travel to Whittlesea to take on the third-placed Eagles, while the Stars will look to get back on the winners’ list as they tackle the winless Mernda at Sir Douglas Nicholls Oval.
Final score: Thomastown 15.9 (99) def Fitzroy Stars 14.8 (92)
