EFNL Division 3 2024: Fairpark’s Billy McNay sinks Silvan at the death

A young gun seized his moment to guide Fairpark to a long-awaited victory in Eastern’s Division 3 on Saturday.

EFNL 2024: Fairpark sings the song after a heart-stopping win over Silvan. Picture: Supplied

An unlikely hero stole victory from the jaws of defeat as Fairpark sung the song for the second time this season.

The Lions sunk Silvan with seconds remaining in the Division 3 clash on Saturday – courtesy of young talent Billy McNay, who kicked the winner in the 11.14 (80) to 11.9 (75) upset.

Fairpark senior coach Sean Stanton recounted the tense dying moments, as he called on McNay – who had sat on the bench virtually all game – for one final effort.

Little separated the teams at each break as the Lions edged ahead by 12 points at the final change, before Silvan’s Matt Low kicked truly for his fifth major to steal the lead with two-and-a-half minutes remaining.

“I swung some moves late in the game and he (McNay) got on with about three minutes to go,” Stanton said.

“He drew a free kick and then there was a 25m penalty and he went back and slotted the goal with about 40 seconds to go.

“Before he ran out I did say that although he hadn’t had an opportunity, there was still an opportunity for him to go out and make an impact and be the difference.

“Funny enough, it turned out the way … he hasn’t played much senior footy at all – he’s early 20s at best … he hadn’t played for a number of years but came back this year.”

Stanton said an injury-riddled campaign had made for a challenging past month, with Saturday’s victory snapping a run of six consecutive losses.

“It was a great team effort and there were a lot of smiles on a lot of people’s faces come the final siren,” he said.

“It was reward for effort – in the four weeks prior we had played four of the top five teams and they’ve been really competitive, but unfortunately just fell short.

“We didn’t play great football (on Saturday), but it was really competitive, really close and thankfully, when the siren blew, we found ourselves in front.

“It was a mix of emotions – relief, joy, and really pleasing to get that monkey off the back.”

Meanwhile, Jesse Pearce bagged five goals as Kyle Hird starred in the ruck for a best-afield performance.

Mason Byrne, Bailey Werle, Mitch Nied and Cooper Hayman were also among the best.

The result lifts the Lions to a 2-9 record for eighth spot of the 10 teams as they look to avoid relegation at season’s end.

Silvan sits at the foot of the table, with two wins and nine losses – three per cent behind Warrandyte.

“Our effort over the last month has been unquestionable … providing we can do that and get some continuity, hopefully we can string a few more wins together over the coming weeks,” Stanton said.