RESERVOIR continued its push for a top two finish in Division 3 with a 38-point win over St Marys at Crispe Park in Round 15.
A six-goal first quarter set up the 9.14 (68) to 4.6 (30) victory for the Mustangs, despite an inaccurate second half from the home side.
The win ensured Reservoir remained in third spot on the ladder. Ross Terranova’s side is now just one win behind South Morang and Watsonia – who are first and second respectively – although the Mustangs have played an extra game than the Lions.
The loss for St Mary’s means it can no longer qualify for the finals, with the Burra set to finish outside the top four for the third season in succession.
The first term was all Reservoir. Despite the first goal of the game going to the Burra’s Lachlan Potter, the Mustangs kicked the next six unanswered goals, which included two majors to Joel Buckley.
St Mary’s made too many poor decisions in the first term which resulted in it falling behind by 32 points at quarter time.
Reservoir coach Ross Terranova commended his side’s fantastic forward pressure during his quarter time address. He also praised Buckley and Jason Dal Santo for their first-quarter efforts and inspired both of them to continue their performance in the second term.
The Burra began to make an impact on the game after quarter time. The visitors were applying more pressure and were also better defensively, conceding just two behinds for the quarter.
Nicholas Dean and Brandon Jones both booted majors to reduce the margin to 20 points at half time.
The shining light for Reservoir in the second quarter was Kelsey Clayton. He chased, applied enormous amounts of pressure and displayed good disposal efficiency when his side needed it.
The third quarter also remained low scoring. Daniel Castagnini opened the scoring and put St Mary’s just 13 points behind on the back of three consecutive goals.
That was before Reservoir’s Toby O’Meara slotted his second major to give the home side their first goal since late in the first term.
The Mustangs dominated possession and continued to place the ball inside 50, however St Mary’s contested marking and Reservoir’s missed opportunities resulted in the Mustangs only kicking four more behinds for the term.
At three quarter time, St Mary’s coach Con Borg urged his side to not blaze away and instructed his side to play one-on-one all over the ground in the final term.
However the visitors struggled to keep possession of the ball in the last quarter. The Mustangs made plenty of inside 50 entries in the last term but they couldn’t reward themselves with goals early on.
Eventually persistence paid off as Clayton booted his second goal of the day, before Leigh Sullivan added his first in between five Reservoir behinds.
There were many players that starred for Reservoir, including Clayton, Dal Santo and Buckley. For the visitors, Thomas Bassett-Smith was excellent in giving his teammates plenty of opportunities to advance forward.
This week Reservoir faces an in-form Banyule, who is coming off of a 102-point win over Heidelberg West in Round 15. St Mary’s faces another big challenge when it hosts ladder-leader South Morang at Whatmough Park.
Final score: Reservoir 9.14 (68) def St Mary’s 4.6 (30)
