Ivanhoe held off a determined Kinglake outfit to keep their Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 finals hopes alive, winning by 15 points at Ivanhoe Park
The lead changed six times throughout the afternoon as the rain made it hard for both teams to maintain possession for long. The Lakers led by a point at half time before the Hoers edged their opponents to take a three-point lead into the final term.
It was then three majors in the first six minutes of the last quarter that helped Ivanhoe return to the winners list with a 10.13 (73) to 9.4 (58) triumph.
Ivanhoe end Round 16 in fourth position, a game clear of sixth placed Old Eltham Collegians, and with away games against Lalor and Mernda to come, wins in both might be required if they are to secure an inaugural finals berth.
Daniel Jones was terrific for the hosts after a blistering game in the middle of the ground and has now incredibly been named in his side’s best in his last 11 matches.
Ben Ernst and Stefan Zervides were also just as impressive in roles around the ground, while Marcel Moran booted an equal game-high three goals, to make it 11 majors in his previous three matches.
After being the hero for Kinglake a fortnight ago, Shane Harvey finished with another three goals to try and keep the Lakers in the hunt throughout the afternoon, while the likes of Mason McAllister and Ben White were others to stand out during the game for the visitors.
A wet and muddy first quarter saw a struggle for either side to be effective with ball in hand, but that seemed to help Kinglake early, with Damian Pywell and Jed Tyrrell each finding the big sticks early to burst out to a 13-point advantage,
The Hoers were able to respond immediately after Tyrrell’s goal at the four-minute mark when Josh Hogan kicked his first senior goal in his second senior game following a great run-down tackle and set shot conversion.
Ivanhoe’s defensive unit, led by Michael Doyle, lifted their pressure, but it didn’t stop the Lakers from looking to extend their early advantage, which they did thanks to Thomas Clarke.
However, Ivanhoe would finish the term strong. Two of the seven returning players for the Hoers this week in Benjamin Cococcia and Scott Selwood each found the big sticks with set shots to give their side the lead for the first time in the match before Jordan Miller did the same at the 24-minute mark to help the home team lead by eight points at quarter time.
The rain started to ease as the second quarter started, but the change in conditions didn’t seem to translate to more scoring opportunities for either team.
Ivanhoe were only able to add three minor scores to their tally for the term, allowing Kinglake the opportunity to regain their advantage.
Rohan King capitalised on a 50-metre penalty with his first goal, before some Shane Harvey magic close to the boundary restored his side’s advantage.
Vice-captain Rye Johnson was a standout for Dave Florance’s men, playing his role well around the ground to help his side be ahead by just a point by the main break.
Scoring opened up in the third term, with the lead changing hands on three occasions.
A second goal from Selwood put the Hoers in front in the first few minutes of the term, but the lead didn’t last long after Pywell kicked his second for the game after running into an open goal.
When Bailey Robinson produced a nice finish in traffic, the Lakers’ lead was at seven points at the seven-minute mark as they looked to try and blow the game apart.
But the Hoers, through multiple inside 50 entries, were starting to put pressure on the Kinglake defence, and soon Marcel Moran was able to reward his side with his first goal of the game.
It gave Ivanhoe the lead again and as it would prove, they would fail to lose their advantage for the remainder of the match.
Andy Otten and Shane Harvey would exchange goals to close the quarter, with Wayne Schultz’s side leading by three points heading into the last term.
Despite the Lakers still close enough to grab their lead again, a blistering opening five minutes to the final quarter all but sealed the result for Ivanhoe.
It started with Moran, who booted back-to-back majors, truly swinging the momentum in the home side’s favour, before a booming goal on the run by Miller secured his second and his side’s 10th goal of the match.
The lead had reached 21 points, with Kinglake struggling to keep the ball inside their attacking half in the hopes of producing a comeback.
Harvey would eventually kick his third of the game at the 17-minute mark, but with the Hoers’ hunger for the ball and their ability to create plenty of stoppages throughout the quarter, Ivanhoe would have no issues securing a 15-point victory in their final home match of the season.
