By Marc McGowan
LYNDALE has fallen another spot on the ladder, suffering a 15-point defeat to Murrumbeena at Kangaroo Park in Division Two SFL action on Saturday.
The Pumas now languish two spots off the bottom of the ladder and a loss to Caulfield at home this weekend would see them drop to second last.
The match was a much tighter affair than Lyndale’s previous three weeks and they took the game up to the Lions.
A one-point Murrumbeena lead at quarter-time turned into a five-point Puma break on the half-time siren.
The Lions grabbed control of the contest in the third period, banging on five goals to two, to lead by two goals at three-quarter-time.
The match promised a tight final term and it lived up to expectations, with Murrumbeena hanging on by just three points with minutes left. Two late goals by the Lions handed the Pumas their fourth straight loss.
Lyndale coach Danny Scott said they’d played just about every player on the list in the past few weeks and there had been a bit of experimenting.
“It’s been a disappointing season; our discipline is a concern,” he said.
Jamie Ngvoune and Paul Wright led Lyndale with three goals apiece, while Daniel McMahon and Dale Weston were the Pumas’ best players.
Pirates scuttle Doveton
PARKMORE bounced back from just its third loss of the season with a commanding 172-point annihilation of Doveton in its Division Three Southern Football League (SFL) contest at Frederick Wachter Reserve on Saturday.
The Pirates welcomed back star trio Daniel Casset, Sean Millane and Andrew McArthur and they did not disappoint.
Casset, after missing last week with knee trouble, bagged 11 goals – his third straight double-figure total.
Parkmore coach Gary Connolly said in the first quarter Casset was still taking it easy with his knee, but after quarter-time got straight back into the mould of throwing himself into the contest.
Casset has now kicked 115 goals for the season.
Millane kicked six goals of his own and McArthur drilled three, confirming their importance to the side.
A major positive for the Pirates was the form of Emad Nassrallah, who, after kicking eight goals in Casset’s absence last week, booted seven with the colossal Casset by his side.
Connolly said he thought Doveton had a couple out that would have hurt the team a bit.
“However, we were focused and it was a good result,” he said.
Andrew Wilson was Parkmore’s best player and Christopher Arnold was also a useful contributor.
Cobras fail to strike
SANDOWN has gone down fighting once again, falling short by 33 points against finals-bound Mount Waverley in their Division Three SFL clash at Edinburgh Reserve on the weekend.
The Cobras were in the match all day and led at different stages, but they began to fade late in the third term and the Mountain Lions took advantage with a four-goal-to-none final quarter.
Sandown president Lew Short said they had given it a big shot.
“In the end our inexperience and fitness told. We have been pretty competitive for the last three to four weeks – apart from the Doveton game – and last week against North Kew we had trouble finding players,” he said.
Craig Anderton booted three goals for the Cobras and Christopher Mulvogue toiled hard.
“We’ll be looking to go out with a win. Our reserves are on top of the ladder, so that’s a good result for the football club.”
With one game to go in its miserable season, the search is well and truly on for next year’s senior coach.
Short said the process had started and the advertisements were out.
“We’re looking for an experienced senior coach,” he said.
Demons fire from finals
DANDENONG has gone agonisingly close to North Kew, losing by three points, to fall out of finals contention in their Division Three SFL encounter at Stradbroke Park on Saturday.
Spurred on by a five-match winning streak, the Demons looked assured of a finals spot a few weeks ago, but a loss in form – highlighted by a devastating 15-point loss to Skye last week – has cost the team at the business end of the season.
Its opening-quarter performance against the Bears appears to have been the final nail in the coffin and despite winning every quarter for the rest of the match, Dandenong was not able to make up the difference in the end.
The loss leaves it six points behind Mount Waverley with one round to play.
Stephen Coats did his best to keep the Demons in the match with six goals, following bags of seven and eight the previous two weeks.
Andrew Davie kicked three goals of his own, while Daniel McGregor and Kristian Vella were others to stand out.
