Old Eltham Collegians have strengthened their grip on a top four spot in the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 competition, following a convincing 22-point win over Kilmore at J.J. Clancy Reserve.
The Turtles grabbed the early ascendancy and were never headed in the 7.13 (55) to 2.11 (23) victory, which puts them two games and percentage clear of the Blues.
A four-goal haul for the victors by Matthew Williamson was the difference in a low-scoring game, with Nicholas Milne also chipping in for two majors.
Solid midfield contributions came from Sebastian Francis-Perkins and Eden Simpson, with Simpson being carried off the ground at the end after completing his 100th game for the club.
“We’ve finally got our game going the way we want to play it; and we look forward to next week against Mernda,” Old Eltham Collegians coach Matt Sleeman said.
Sleeman praised the work of the defence, with Daniel Hallett excelling in his fourth game for the club.
Along with Liam Rushton-McCoach, Nathan Byatt and Hugh Kavanagh, Hallett regularly thwarted opposition attacking moves and drove the ball through the midfield with precision.
At times, it appeared that Old Eltham Collegians were going to record a much bigger win, but the Blues proved to be a resilient side despite rarely being able to put the ball through the big sticks.
There was a handy breeze blowing to the southern end of the ground, but neither team fully capitalised with the wind at their backs.
Kilmore failed to score a goal with the breeze in the first quarter and conceded two goals the other way. Trailing by 11-points at the start of the second term, it appeared that the Turtles might put the game out of reach by the main break.
But, despite dominating the inside 50 count, the visitors booted 0.7 for the term and had a few shots miss completely. On the flipside, the Blues scored a goal against the run of play courtesy of Adam Milne which proved to be their only score for the quarter.
The home team began the third term trailing by 12-points and had the advantage of the breeze as they attempted to narrow the margin.
But Williamson booted his third and fourth goals in the first few minutes to extend their advantage to 25 points.
A set shot goal from Grant Paxton gave the local fans a glimmer of hope, but Jackson Freebairn slotted a major from a tight angle late in the quarter to give Old Eltham Collegians a lead of 24 points at the last change.
Kilmore coach Paul Derrick urged his players to run and take the game on in the hope of pulling off an improbable comeback.
But the first two goals of the final term came via Nicholas Milne, who had been well held by Ethan Derrick up to that point, to blow the lead out to a game-high 36-points at the 10-minute mark.
With plenty of time left to use the breeze and the game wrapped up, a ten-goal win looked a possibility for the Turtles. But the Blues players persisted and attacked for the final part of the contest, despite only being able to muster behinds to round out the match.
“I’m proud of the effort, but we have to finish off the hard work done up the ground,” Kilmore coach Paul Derrick said.
Leigh Irons was industrious in the midfield as usual and was named as Derrick’s clear best.
Michael McCulloch was a strong presence up forward for the Blues, while Christopher Barton and Liam Monaghan impressed through the midfield. The Derrick brothers in Ethan and Bailey led a resolute defence that regularly stood up under pressure.
Kilmore now sits two games outside the top four and will need to take some big scalps if they are to push for finals. They get a chance to do that next week when they host Laurimar.
