Sandown Cobras coach Stephen Jasiak said his side would win a game soon and they were better than zero wins and three losses. – Glen Atwell
WHEN the Sandown Cobras play the Doveton Eagles on 20 May, one thing is certain.
One team will have their first win of the season and the other will remain winless.
The Cobras have lost their first three Southern Football League Division Three games, and, like the Eagles, could struggle to secure premiership points in 2006.
On Saturday, South Mornington beat the Cobras by six points at Citation Oval in Mount Martha.
But it was definitely the one that got away from the Cobras.
With five minutes remaining, the Cobras led by 16 points before a controversial umpiring decision resulted in a Tigers goal.
South Mornington then slammed another three goals home to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
But Cobras coach Stephen Jasiak believes his side snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
“We had five set shots at the beginning of the third quarter and missed them all,” he said.
“Despite that we still led by a decent margin with minutes remaining then everything went to pieces.
“We definitely should have beaten South Mornington.”
Jasiak firmly believes his side is a lot better than their current 0-3 predicament.
“We’ll win games this season, we probably should be one (win) and two (losses), but that’s footy,” he said.
Sandown had six more scoring shots than the Tigers but failed to convert the majority of its chances.
The 14.8.92 to 12.16.88 final score reflected the run of bad luck responsible for the Cobras’ horror start to the season.
Sandown played new league powerhouse Parkmore in the opening round, before hosting the hard-to-beat Cerberus in round two.
Division Three football has dramatically improved, forcing the Cobras to open the cheque book in a bid to retain their key personnel.
“We have no other choice – not paying the players is no longer an option,” Jasiak said.
“The competition is very even at the moment.”
The Cobras will have to win against the unbeaten Black Rock at Edinburgh Reserve, Springvale, this Saturday to turn the tide on the season.
