After a dramatic finish at Coventry Oval, Diamond Creek bounced back from two consecutive losses to defeat St Mary’s by two points in their highly anticipated MC Labour Division 2 clash.
Creekers’ midfielder Tyler Barnes was awarded a 50-metre penalty in the late stages of the match before converting his set shot after the full-time siren to secure a heart stopping 8.7 (55) to 8.5 (53) triumph for his side.
The victory keeps Andrew Tranquilli’s men in the top three as it stands and with two bottom five sides to play in their final three matches, the Creekers are in a good position to solidify the double chance finish.
St Mary’s sit six points clear of Thomastown in the top five but with games against Eltham and Lower Plenty in the next fortnight, the Burra could be in danger of losing their finals spot if the Bears take advantage in their fixtures. Both sides meet each other in the final round of the home and away season.
As well as kicking the match winner, Barnes had a great afternoon, playing a critical role in the midfield, while Thomas Bennett, Chris Moloney and Sam Gleeson were also superb for the home side.
For the Burra, Nicholas Dean and Tane Cotter were excellent, kicking two goals each at crucial times to almost will their side over the line.
The game started as a free-flowing affair with both teams unable to get any sort of momentum going goal-wise.
Diamond Creek were able to make the most of their opportunities with majors from Lochlon Brannelly and Sage Dicello giving the home side a 13-point quarter time lead.
After being kept goalless in the first term, St Mary’s began to find their groove as the second quarter commenced after a beautiful spin move by Jacob Yeomans set up Nicholas Dean to allow the visitors to finally hit the scoreboard.
The Burra’s early quarter success was due to their use of the corridor, creating a flurry of inside 50 entries as a result.
But Diamond Creek had a well drilled defensive wall, which put the Burra on the back foot. On the flip, the Creekers were able to find the goals again as Dicello’s second major and Barnes’ first, gave the hosts a 19-point half time lead.
The Burra came out firing after half time as they looked to improve on their one goal first half. Their overall pressure ramped up, and their tackling was immense.
But a booming goal from Nathan Searl extended the margin for Diamond Creek with the Burra again failing to capitalise on their dominance.
That’s when things changed as Tane Cotter and Lachlan Potter led the way inside 50 to make scores level again late in the third term.
But a major from Kane Murfett on the three-quarter time siren ensured the Creekers still maintained an advantage heading into the last term.
It was an incredibly tight and contested last quarter with both sides winning countless inside 50s, but not converting chances.
It wasn’t until the 16th minute that saw the stalemate broken when the Burra’s Nicholas Gedge found the big sticks to tie the scores.
Both sides exchanged majors deep into the quarter before a strong tackle from Dean saw him with a set shot on goal with just over a minute remaining. Dean converted his second major of the afternoon, and the visitors had the lead.
But in an incredibly dramatic finish, Barnes won a holding the ball free kick inside the Creekers front half before St Mary’s gave away a 50-metre penalty for failing to give the ball back to Barnes on the full.
15 metres out directly in front and with full time siren sounded, Barnes kicked truly to win the game for his side.
