Reservoir secured a hard fought 19-point win over Thomastown at Crispe Park in Round 6 of Division 3 action.
The Bears played well in spurts, but were unable to capitalise on their periods of dominance as they fell to 14.12 (96) to 11.11 (77) loss.
The Bears’ Joshua Beare stood out early, but kicked three behinds. They led 1.6 to 1.2 at the first break after kicking with the breeze.
However, their dominance began to pay dividends early in the second quarter. Michael Khoury kicked his second goal from a snap to get the ball rolling.
From the next centre break, Michael Di Battista broke clear and hit Nathan Stavridis with a lovely pass. Stavridis converted and Thomastown found itself 17 points up.
Soon after, Reservoir received a free off the ball in the centre and the momentum of the game changed. The Mustangs booted 4.3 to nil thereafter to take a handy 11-point lead into the main break.
Best on ground Cameron Rooney racked up possessions and finished off his work by booting a long goal just before half time.
Thomastown coach Steve Krstevski rued the team wasting their dominance early when kicking with the wind. He also felt the game slipped away with some silly errors coming out of defence late in the second quarter.
The third term was similar to the second, with Thomastown holding sway early. It slotted the first three goals to regain the lead, with Beare finding the target with two majors – one after a strong contested mark.
The Bears’ best player, Steven Cadby, gave them drive from the ruck and picked up possessions around the ground. And an otherwise subdued David Folino managed two goals for the term.
Mustang Dallas King had been quiet, but he turned things with a good run down the wing, followed soon after by kicking a goal.
Leigh Sullivan had improved after quarter time, and became a target across half forward. Kent Beaumont did well to kick a long ball forward for Sullivan to take a contested mark and score from close range.
The Mustangs were five points up at the last change and had the aid of the breeze in the final quarter.
As the game progressed, Reservoir coach Ross Terranova made some winning positional moves.
Di Battista’s influence on the game was lessened when shadowed by Nathan Smith. Ryan Docherty also spent some time on Folino.
Steven Hiho had spent some time off the ground in the third quarter. Toby O’Meara rucked for the final term, while Hiho provided assistance to a strong defence, which was ably led by Ben Mowlam and Richard Collins.
Justin Kuchel alternated between half back – where he took some telling marks – and the wing.
When Reservoir kicked the first two goals of the final quarter, the Bears appeared to be gone. But they scored three goals to hit the front once more, and an unlikely victory looked a possibility.
But the Mustangs scored four of the last five majors to get the points. They had more avenues to goal. Ashley Flavel kicked four, with eight others joining the party.
Assistant coach Leon Edwards was happy that Reservoir was able to apply enough pressure on the young Bears to force them into error.
The teams, separated by Mahoneys Road, both appear to be finals bound based on Saturday’s effort, with Reservoir jumping into second place on the ladder, while Thomastown slipped to third.
The Mustangs play Parkside next week, while the Bears host top of the table Panton Hill, desperately needing to record a win against a side in the top four.
Final score: Reservoir 14.12 (96) def Thomastown 11.11 (77)
