Mernda proved too strong for Heidelberg West at Heidelberg Park in Round 7 action of Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 football.
The Demons drew away to win by 43-points in an impressive display.
“I’m rapt with how we went today,” said Mernda coach Brent Marshall in a game that some at Mernda saw as a banana peel fixture.
Marshall appreciated the work of emerging star Lincoln Coffey who played ruck and forward, finishing with three goals. He also liked the game of Declan Felle in defence who was good in one-on-one contests and took some intercept marks. The coach liked the play of midfielder Josh Mazzarella who is having a great season.
Helping out Mazzarella in the middle was Chris Roussos and Zach Ciacia, with the latter coming into the team this week and hitting the scoreboard. Another inclusion in Mathew Siciliano who finished the match well with two second half goals.
Playing coach Marshall was industrious, getting plenty of it at the base of the pack and finding players in space. Jayden Bell was busy and kicked two of his three majors in the final term to slam the door shut on the Hawks.
Heidelberg West looked the better team early on, with Waylon Davey kicking the opening goal and narrowly missing a couple of others. One of those went through the middle of the big sticks from wide out but was touched off the boot.
With the Hawks not being able to make the most of their early dominance, Mernda scored two goals in quick succession in the middle of the term to take a 4-point lead. The remainder of the quarter was a defender’s delight, with the teams combining for five behinds.
The Demons began to take control in the second quarter, but Bryce Barnes took an absolute specie late in the term and slotted a difficult shot to reduce the deficit to 12 points.
From the perspective of the Hawks, Mernda scored a few goals too easily and Coffey almost immediately replied to give the visitors a 17-point buffer heading into the main break.
The Demons had improved their work rate from early in the game and began to dominate the third term, blowing the lead out to 32 points late in the quarter. But a Mernda defender slipped while trying to affect a switch of play in defence and the ball went straight to Waylon Davey who kicked truly.
The late goal gave Heidelberg West a tiny chance of a comeback victory. At the last change Hawks coach Michael Missen urged his players to move the ball quickly and use the corridor.
The air was sucked out of the balloon for the locals when Billy Morrison marked and goaled in the first minute of the final term. Heidelberg West did quickly reply courtesy of another strong mark and straight kick from Barnes. However, the Demons controlled the majority of the quarter to win comfortably.
“We couldn’t execute the way we wanted to today,” said Heidelberg West coach Michael Missen. Missen praised defender Hunter Garraway for his job in keeping dangerous forward Kyle Green goalless as well as having numerous intercept marks. He also gave a tick to Barnes who was a strong presence up forward with his three goals.
Mernda’s win strengthens their grip on third spot on the table as they go a game and percentage ahead of Watsonia who had the bye. Although the Hawks dropped to ninth, they are still only one game off fifth spot.
