Heidelberg West have snapped a four-game losing streak in Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 with a come from behind nine-point victory over Mernda at Heidelberg Park.
The Hawks trailed by 17 points at three quarter time but kicked four majors in the final term, while keeping the Demons to just two behinds, to win 16.7 (103) to 14.10 (94).
Alex Hywood and Jordan Vellios proved instrumental up forward, kicking four goals each for the home side while Nicholas Paton stood up when required in the midfield, giving his forward’s great service.
The visitors had five players with multiple goals, Bryce Kimuliatis leading the day with three majors, while Josh Mazzarella and Ryan Bongetti were solid contributors in the losing effort.
Heidelberg West coach Michael Missen was proud that his side responded the way they did after difficult few weeks for the Hawks.
“We were sort of below par for a bit of the match, and it was tough coming off the last month of footy, having to play the top four sides three weeks in a row away from home,” he said.
“So, we just had to dig deep and find a bit of courage and resilience to get the job done when it wasn’t really our day again and we did.”
Missen also believes the result can spark a bit of momentum for the Hawks as they look to play finals for the first time in their history.
“We’ve got pretty good self-belief that our best footy can match it with those other sides in the top four especially after today,” he said.
“We just haven’t had too much luck go our way; we’ve had a horrid run with injuries for example.
“But we know if we bring our trademark behaviours on field, it stacks up well for us and we also know our fixture opens up in the backend of the year, so if we can stay close enough and a few of our guys have a bit of form, we can slide in there.”
Nine goals straight were kicked in the first quarter between the two sides, Hywood the only multiple goalscorer with two majors, but it was the visitors, thanks to late goals from Mazzarella and Christian Evans, that gained a six-point lead at quarter time.
It was another high scoring second term, with eight total goals kicked, but this time it was the Hawks that managed to make more of their opportunities.
That was particularly the case in the first five minutes of the second term when Harley Mozdzierz, Jordan Bulman and Allan Young all kicked majors to not just give the home side the lead but to make it an almost two goal margin in the blink of an eye.
The Demons to their credit were able to respond in short notice. Kimiliatis kicked his second major of the first half before Ryan Bongetti converted his set shot to quickly re-take the lead. The 38-year-old then quickly added a second for the afternoon at the 18-minute mark to extend the margin to eight points for the Demons.
But the Hawks would fight back before the end of the half. Vellios led the way with a brilliant running goal to add to his first term major before Daniel Walters also kicked his second goal of the day, as he grabbed it out of the ruck and kicked truly to give the Hawks a three-point lead at the main break.
Mernda took control as the second half commenced, kicking six majors in the third term. Kimiliatis, Mazzarella and Crouch all added to their goal tallies and despite the Hawks keeping the scoreboard ticking themselves with three third quarter majors, the visitors took a handy 17-point lead heading into the final change.
A few behinds from either side meant the Hawks still trailed by just under three goals in the early stages of the final term, but at the 13-minute mark of the quarter, Mozdzierz calmly converted his set shot on goal to reduce the margin to nine points.
Two minutes later, it was a three-point ball game thanks to an excellent read of the ball drop from Hywood who then dribbled the ball through for his fourth major of the afternoon.
The momentum was well and truly with Heidelberg West at this stage as their pressure caused Bailey Wright to win a free kick almost directly in front of goal as time on approached. He converted and the Hawks regained the lead.
Mernda had their chances last in the term, with Crouch’s missed set shot at the 25-minute mark leaving the Demons trailing by two points as time wound down.
Vellios sealed the game with his fourth major, a beautiful banana kick from the boundary, to send Hawks fans into raptures.
The Hawks will look to build on their second victory of the season when they take on Reservoir next week while Mernda will need some luck to get back on the winners list as they prepare for a three-week stanza of playing top four sides, beginning with Kilmore in round seven.
