By Jarrod Potter
EASTERN FOOTBALL LEAGUE – SEMI FINAL REVIEW
BLOODIED, muddied, beaten and bruised.
There was nothing left to smile about for Noble Park after conceding a hellacious afternoon against Norwood in the first EFL semi final.
The Norsemen got out of the blocks strongly against the Bulls and no matter what Mick Fogarty threw at the opposition, it wasn’t enough to close the gap.
Nothing went the Bulls way as the fans howled in rage at the umpiring and the side’s inability to maintain possession in the back half.
Of Norwood’s 15 goals across the afternoon, Noble Park played a direct hand in most of them as turnovers and free kicks pushed the Norsemen ahead throughout the day.
The news only got worse for the Bulls in the third term, as livewire forward Ziggie Alwan (three goals) left the clash after colliding heavily in a contest – sustaining a serious shoulder injury that will leave the former VFL player potentially for the remainder of the season.
It left Shayne Allan (four goals) to gallantly battle by himself up forward – especially in the second half as the flooding from both sides made life particularly tough at either end.
An Allan goal just on the three-quarter-time siren brought the gap back to 16 at the final change and the Bulls resumed with vigour in the fourth.
But early chances on goal didnt turn into goals and the Norsemen rallied to put the match beyond the Bulls down the straight to advance to the qualifying final against Balwyn with a 29-point win.
Kyle Martin (25 possessions) was a clear best for Noble Park – despite being piggybacked in most stoppages and thrown off the ball at most others – while the skipper Craig Anderson (25 possessions) also flew the flag alongside ruckman Glen Manson and the evergreen Stewart Kemperman.
Passions ran high in the rooms after the match as Fogarty told his men they were more than capable of beating Norwood, but not playing like that.
Fogarty wouldn’t be drawn into commentary on the standard of decision-making from the officials and left opinions on the umpiring to public speculation.
“I refuse to talk about the umpires or I’ll get something – a please explain,” Fogarty said. “Everyone that saw it – and what decisions they made – if you saw the game today whilst our skill error at times gifted them goals that were our fault… I just can’t comment.”
The hard grind has become ever-present in Bulls’ matches this year and the coach was pleased to see his prime movers stand tall.
“Great fightback and I was really pleased with our boys their effort today to work themselves and give us a chance to win the game was terrific,” Fogarty said. Everything that cluld go wrong did – Ziggie went down, put his body on the line, Martin just gets bullied off the ball and everyone sees it.
“Again – as I said there just staggered – it staggers me.”
Despite three losses to Norwood this season, Fogarty still holds out faith his side can knock over the reigning premiers.
“Anyone that saw it today will walk away – and so will Denis (Norwood coach Denis Knight) – he’ll know that but he mightn’t admit it, but he’ll know it,” Fogarty said.
Noble Park now enters the EFL Division 1 repechage and will face either Vermont or Rowville next Sunday at Jubilee Park.
EFL SCOREBOARD
Norwood 5.4 8.5 12.5 15.10 (100)
Noble Park 1.2 4.6 9.7 10.11 (71)
NORWOOD Goal Kickers: D. Stewart 4, L. Williams 3, M. McCormack 2, M. Decler 2, J. Kroussoratis, M. Jessop, D. Johnson, Z. McCubbin. Best Players: D. Stewart, M. Aver, M. Ambrose, J. Holmes, S. Hill, L. Dickson.
NOBLE PARK Goal Kickers: S. Allan 4, Z. Alwan 3, V. Faik, S. Monaghan, S. Kemperman. Best Players: J. Plymin, C. Anderson, S. Kemperman, S. Allan, G. Manson, K. Martin.
