ENDEAVOUR Hills almost left Mount Waverley with a memorable upset win over the Mountain Lions, instead they will have to make do with some new respect.
Powered by the run of their young midfield and the quality of key forward Mitch Whatman (three goals), the Falcons withstood a perilous first term in which the Mountain Lions squandered seven of their nine scoring shots to build a four-goal lead midway through the third term.
Last season’s Southern Football League division 3 grand finalists, Mount Waverley, looked in trouble and were still down two goals entering the final 10 minutes following a goal from Falcons midfielder Marty Gaitley.
But from that point the Mountain Lions clicked into action, with captain Jarrod Wilkin, midfielder Christian Cafiso and forward Daniel Pearce all making key plays to get their side back into the game and then into the lead following a goal from James Gough which tied the scores and three crucial behinds which gave them the lead. Pearce then sealed the win in the final minute with a long goal.
Falcons coach Matt Ashenden said his side would take a lot from battling the Mountain Lions.
But he said his players would rue missing out on a memorable win for their fledgling club. “To be honest when we got two goals up at the end I thought we were home, that we would hold on,” he said.
“But they are a quality side and have played in grand finals so they know how to win matches. Hopefully our side can get some respect from the rest of the competition following our performance.”
Ashenden said Whatman was an exciting acquisition for the Falcons but his side had to learn how to close a game out.
Trent Day, Shannon Dubois, Jeremy Lablache, Whatman, Daniel Batson, Neil Peake, Brendan Robinson and Chris Burch were best players for the Falcons.
Ashenden also said his side had struggled against the bulk of the older Mountain Lions midfield.
Mountain Lions coach Andrew Taranto said his side had struggled to focus during the game especially after kicking a wasteful two goals, seven behinds in the opening term.
In other division 3 SFL matches eight goals from recruit Tim Ford helped Dandenong to a one-goal win over Caulfield while Doveton Eagles continued their stellar start to with a win over Sandown.
In division 2, Ash Beasy’s three goals led Springvale Districts to a second straight win to start the season, beating Hampton while Skye thumped Southern Dragons.
