EFL: Tim Watkins nails match-winning goal in Blackburn’s three-point victory over Balwyn
A GOAL with just two minutes remaining from Tim Watkins gave Blackburn a nailbiting three-point win over Balwyn in one of the games of the Eastern Football League season.
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THEY traded blows throughout the day and were only separated in the dying stages.
A goal with just two minutes remaining from Tim Watkins gave Blackburn a nailbiting three-point win over Balwyn in one of the games of the Eastern Football League season on Saturday.
Watkins nailed the sealer from 30m out at the 26-minute mark to help deliver a 13.13 (91) to 13.10 (88) victory, helping the Burners keep pace with the Division 1 top five a third of the way through the season.
The margin at each break never got beyond 10 points in an enthralling contest at Cherry Rd, with the win squaring Blackburn’s season at 3-3 heading into the interleague bye.
“(It’s) pretty significant after losing a few heart breakers against Doncaster and South Croydon, so in the scheme of things 3-3 sets us up a bit, especially with our run in the next few weeks,” Blackburn coach Brendan Allen said.
“We’ve got three home games out of the (next) four so you’d hope we’d be able to get the job done in a few of them.”
Jake Hammond finished with four majors, all coming in the first half, while Ben Daniher and Xavier Murphy got their hands dirty in the midfield and Julian Soccio continued to find form.
Unfortunately, the win was soured by a knee injury to Jason Read, with the Burners hoping it is not a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
The Burners remain in seventh position on the ladder but more importantly are just one game outside the top five.
“Just something like that sets your belief up, if you lost that you go 2-4 and with two heart breakers, just mentally it is a tough game when things don’t roll your way but to get one like that, it instils belief in the group,” Allen said.
“It puts trust in the system and it is just a flow-on effect.”
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