EFL 2022: Wantirna South surges into fourth spot following fourth-straight win

Wantirna South marked a fourth win on the bounce in the EFL’s Division 1 to surge clear in fourth spot after edging Croydon on Saturday.

It has surged into finals contention as one of the competition’s form sides.

Wantirna South banked a fourth consecutive victory on Saturday, defeating Croydon to usurp the Blues in fourth spot on the Eastern league Division 1 ladder with a 7.12 (54) to 5.14 (44) result.

The Devils’ rich vein of form comes after snapping a three-game losing streak in Round 10, and they now sit more than seven per cent clear ahead of Croydon (fifth) in the top four.

In what Wantirna South senior coach Steve Cochrane described as a “scrappy” first half, the Devils overturned a nine-point half-time deficit to lead by 16 at the final change, owing to increased supply inside 50.

The Devils’ Liam Hewett kicked a leading two goals in the victory to be named in the best. Picture: Davis Harrigan

“We weren’t winning enough clearances, we weren’t getting enough ball into our forwards or enough speed on the ball and we were able to get some good clearances and we moved the ball a bit quicker into our forwards,” Cochrane said of the first half.

“We started to get a lot more opportunity and our forwards started to get some one-on-ones which opened the game up a little bit.

“In the last quarter it went back to the way it was in the first half, a real scrappy affair again.”

Two men behind the turnaround were veteran half-back David Lang and in-and-under midfielder Lincoln Wong, with the pair named in the Devils’ best.

Cochrane lauded Lang’s run off half-back as a key driver in the second-half shift.

David Lang swoops in against Upper Gully. Picture: Wantirna South FC

“He gives us a lot of rebound run, he’s tough and hard at the footy and if he’s getting the ball and running lines hard, it makes us a better side and he was one of the guys that helped us,” Cochrane said.

“He’s been a great player for the club for a long time and in my time he’s been terrific across half-back.”

The Devils’ finals charge comes following a string of close losses in the opening half of the season – including four under two goals and three of those under six points.

But Cochrane is adamant his side’s improved 7-6 record stems from the lessons learnt.

“We learnt a lot in the first half of the year, it was probably a bit of belief and also sticking to what we know,” he said.

“We were playing a certain brand and then we’d get in front and go away from that trying to save the game, rather than continuing to play the way we were playing. We learnt a lot from that.”

Wantirna South senior coach Steve Cochrane. Picture: Davis Harrigan

Wantirna South takes on Mitcham (third) next weekend before meeting Bayswater (seventh), East Ringwood (second), Lilydale (ninth) and Mooroolbark (first) in the run home.

“They (Mitcham) going to be a tough opposition but all we can do is win,” Cochrane said of next week’s clash.

“We’ve been doing that the last four weeks and I know we can play better than we did yesterday, but the sign of a good side is you can still get over the line when things aren’t going your way.

“There’s only five weeks to go and it’s all in front of us.”