Lalor fought off a late Reservoir surge in their Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 clash at Lalor Reserve, winning by 14 points to claim their second victory of the season.
After a competitive first half, the Bloods impressed in the third term to lead by 38 points at the final change and got the margin out to as much as 50 points by the six-minute mark of the last quarter.
The Mustangs then kicked six unanswered goals to finish the term, however time prevented their surge from threatening the home side’s lead, with Lalor prevailing 14.10 (94) to 11.14 (80) to defeat Reservoir for the first time since 2021.
Sam Rexhepi led the way inside 50 for the Bloods producing six majors, meanwhile at the other end of the ground, Nathan Parkes was influential with a number of intercept marks.
Heath Patton finished in his side’s best for a fifth consecutive match and kicked two important goals for the winning team.
For the Mustangs, Tom Dunn played nicely down the wing, finding the ball and distributing it well by foot while after returning from suspension, James El Moussalli lifted his side in the fourth term by kicking goal of the day with a left to right bender.
He finished with seven majors for the match and alongside captain Zechariah Cuppens, the pair orchestrated the visiting side’s late fightback.
Alex Mills and Rexhepi traded goals for both sides to get the highly anticipated contest underway.
Early on, neither team dominated in terms of possession, with both sides getting their fair share of opportunities to move the ball forward and create chances to hit the scoreboard.
Fans were gifted the highlight of the day in the first term with a spectacular climb from Heath Patton, who flew over the pack to reel in the mark on his second grab.
Rexhepi continued his dominance in the forward line as he slotted another two majors, with one coming right on the quarter time siren to hand Lance Whitnall’s men an 11-point advantage heading into the second term.
The Mustangs again opened the scoring in the second quarter thanks to El Moussalli who was slowly getting into the match.
He would soon kick a second to tie the scores as his side’s ability to win possession of the football grew.
The Bloods responded through Heath Patton who grabbed the ball out of the ruck to run into an open goal, opening the hosts’ account for the term.
El Moussalli was putting his hand up as one of Reservoir’s best players and soon kicked his third for the quarter to keep his side in the game.
Again, Lalor was able to hit back virtually right away, this time through Marc Demaria, who snapped truly with the right foot after taking two bounces along the boundary line.
Patton got his skates on to produce a great running goal of his own to help the Bloods lead by nine points at half time.
Rexhepi kept the tempo high for the home side to start the third term with another major, meanwhile fellow forwards in Patton and Scott Morrison were also linking up nicely as Lalor were starting to dominate in all facets of the game.
The Bloods found themselves creating quality scoring opportunities every time they entered their forward 50 and at the other end, were able to keep Reservoir goalless as they went into three quarter time with a comfortable 38-point advantage.
Cuppens fired a great major from 50 metres out to start the final term and give his side some hope before Lalor’s Nathan Mittica, who had left the ground after backing into a pack in a courageous effort in the third quarter, returned to the ground and made an immediate impact as he slotted through a goal.
Rexhepi then solidified himself as Lalor’s best player for the afternoon as he slotted another two goals, showing the impact of a strong pair of hands and accurate kicking.
The lead at that point had reach 50, and although all hope of a comeback seemed dead in the water, Rohan Davies’ side refused to give up on the contest.
Jack Craig-Smith hit back for the visitors as they started to dominate in the centre of the ground. James El Moussalli was then rewarded with a goal that sailed through the big sticks from 50 metres out, close to the boundary line.
Another goal from El Moussalli continued the Mustangs flurry and spectators were starting to wonder if the 30-point margin would be enough with ten minutes of game time left.
El Moussali kept piling on the scoreboard pressure and along with Julian Caminiti, more majors saw the margin reduce to 14 points with minutes to play.
But time was against Reservoir, and it was clear they left their run too late, as Lalor secured their second triumph in three weeks.
