By ROY WARD
NOBLE Park won’t forget its Queen’s Birthday weekend loss to Balwyn anytime soon — in fact, it will use the result as motivation for the rest of its Eastern Football League division 1 campaign.
The Bulls lost to the premiers by eight points in front of a big crowd at Pat Wright Senior Oval on Saturday. The loss came despite the Bulls taking the lead via a goal from Beau Cosson midway through the final term.
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That lead didn’t last long as the Tigers’ were handed a controversial free kick after an off-ball clash between Bulls defender Trent Robertson and Tigers forward Luke Barker inside the forward 50-metre line just as the Bulls had moved the ball out to the wing.
Barker went back and slammed his kick through the goals to give the Tigers back the lead. The visitors put on two more quick goals and held off the Bulls for a memorable win, Barker finished with six for the match.
The Bulls got a spirited but pointed talk from coach Mick Fogarty both on the ground and in the rooms post-game. Fogarty demanded more accountability and better conversions from his side.
Bulls captain Craig Anderson said his teammates were disappointed with the result.
“Obviously being in front in the final term meant we were a fair shot to win it. Then there were a couple of free kicks, dubious ones, and we ended up losing the game.
“That’s the way it goes. Obviously we’re pretty shattered because we feel like we can match it with them.
“We’ll review the match on Tuesday and move on pretty quick but we will remember this one for a while.”
Anderson made a point of saying Robertson’s free kick was not the sole cause for the loss. Fogarty also urged his players to aim for a higher standard of performance in the final months of the season as the Bulls chase the premiership.
“When you have a high-pressure game like today every goal counts, every stoppage counts, every turnover can hurt you,” Fogarty said after coming out a long post-game meeting with his coaches.
“Today it hurt us late in that last quarter when we had momentum.
“We’re really disappointed with the way it unfolded. We had all the momentum and had a real chance to win the game. There was an incident, then we turned the footy over and that was it.”
The Bulls named George Angelopoulos, Tim Kelly, Luke Smith, Vergim Faik and Brett Dore as best players. Cosson kicked three goals.
The Bulls and Tigers will have this weekend off as the rest of the league returns to the field. In their next match the Bulls will look to win their first game at East Burwood in half a decade.
“We haven’t beaten them over there in five years and now we have to beat them,” Fogarty said.
“I’ve got no doubt this group will rise to the challenge. We’ve been playing good football the last two weeks and we know we can match it with anyone.
“Today we didn’t get the four points but showed we can match it with the top sides.”
The EFL dedicated the round to depression and anxiety foundation beyondblue. Both sides wore special beyondblue jumpers, which featured blue added to their regular guernseys.
EFL Queen’s Birthday match
Balwyn 3.3, 6.4, 8.7, 11.9 (75) d Noble Park 3.2, 5.2, 7.4, 10.7 (67)
Goals: Balwyn: L Barker 6, R McMahon, B Broadhurst 2, S Kenna. Noble Park: B Cosson 3, G Angelopoulos 2, B Dore, M Dunne, L Smith, T Kelly, B Scalzo. Best: Balwyn: R McMahon, J Goldsack, L Barker, J Milhuisen, J Chirgwin, A Murray. Noble Park: G Angelopoulos, T Kelly, V Faik, A McConnell, L Smith, B Dore.
