Square stays in finals hunt with gutsy upset

RULE a line through Castlemaine, but the battle for fifth spot in BFNL football will go down to the wire, after Golden Square pulled off the upset of the season against Gisborne last Saturday.

A week after outplaying top-of-the-ladder Sandhurst for the second time this season, powerhouse Gisborne fell against a ravenous Golden Square at Wade Street.

Down by two goals at the 22-minute mark of the final term, the Square rattled off three goals in the space of four minutes to snatch an inconceivable lead, before defending grimly for the final seven minutes to snatch a five-point win.

A season best win kept the Square’s finals hopes alive, heading into a weekend off four points and percentage behind Strathfieldsaye.

The Square though remain as outsiders after the Storm enhanced their own finals claims with a 42-point win over Castlemaine at Camp Reserve.

A victory full of character widened the percentage gap between the Storm and Square, who will meet in the final round of the season.

Before then, the Storm will make the trek to Gisborne in round 15, while Golden Square will take on the might of Sandhurst at Wade Street.

Golden Square coach Brad Eaton hailed a ‘gutsy’ and ‘resilient full-four quarter effort’ by his Bulldogs side in what he branded as proof of their second half of the season improvement.

“In all honesty, we played pretty well against Gisborne last time … probably one of our best quarters of footy …. but we couldn’t sustain it,” he said.

“We’ve definitely got a much more settled side at the moment and a bit of consistency.

“We’ve been in good form, but I’ve felt we’ve just needed to be close enough in a game against a top side when it matters, to show what we can do.

“The last couple of times we’ve done that, we have finished off the game well.

“(Gisborne) had a big win last week, but we think we are a chance every week now.

“A win like that is great for our belief.”

Gisborne appeared to have the game in its keeping when Luke Meletis converted while running into an open goal, to give the Bulldogs a handy two-goal break.

But far from being done, Jack Stewart gave the Square hope when he soccered through a reply soon afterwards.

A snap from Hugh Freckleton levelled the scores, before Jordan Rosengren got on the end of some fine clearance work from Dylan Hird for the go-ahead goal at the 26-minute mark.

BFNL under-19 interleague captain James Gray tried in vain to level the scores, but his snap from the most difficult of angles at the 29-minute mark could only register a behind.

The timeclock would nearly reach 34 minutes before the Square could savour a sweet victory, after working overtime to bottle up play.

Eaton praised his players’ relentless pressure in the final few minutes.

“It was a high-intensity game; Gisborne is a tough side, they’re not up near the top for no reason. They have a lot of class players,” he said.

“We did well to repel that and try and get our matchups right.

“Around the footy, we were really good to nullify their spread and run and carry.

“It was a good reward for the boys.”

Hird set the tone with his pressure and attack on the football to be the Square’s best, while Stewart, Rosengren, Tom Strauch, Noah Warfe and Daniel Keating were all fine contributors.

Given a heavy load in recent weeks, accentuated by a tough loss in the thick mud at Harry Trott Oval against South Bendigo in the lead-up to the Gisborne clash, Eaton said the Square would enjoy a lighter week on the track this week before homing in on the Dragons.

At Camp Reserve, key forwards James Schischka (six) and Jed Brereton (three) combined for nine goals as the Storm put paid to Castlemaine’s season and moved a giant step closer to confirming their own finals spot.

Round 14 split round week one: Castlemaine 8.10 (58) lost to Strathfieldsaye 15.10 (100); Golden Square 11.12 (78) defeated Gisborne 10.13 (73).

Round 14 split round week two: Kangaroo Flat v South Bendigo; Sandhurst v Eaglehawk.