St Bernard’s win keeps VAFA Premier finals hopes ajar

St Bernard’s coach Mark Riley blamed himself for the lapse which saw Old Brighton have a last-gasp shot to snatch victory. But the Snowdogs narrowly held on.

Charlie Vague was one of St Bernard’s best players. Picture: AAP/Chris Eastman

A last-second shot which clattered into the goal post has kept St Bernard’s VAFA Premier finals hopes alive after a nailbiting win away against Old Brighton on Saturday.

The Tonners’ set shot struck the post a second before the final siren blew, the Snowdogs claiming a 10.11 (71) to 9.15 (69) victory at Brighton Beach Oval.

“It ended up a thriller but it probably shouldn’t have been,” coach Mark Riley said.

“I thought we controlled most of the key factors for most of the game.

“We had 60-plus inside 50s to their low 40s, we won the clearances.

“We gave them a couple of goals with critical turnovers in defence and a couple of fortuitous free kicks resulted in goals, which are pretty hard to peg back in a low-scoring game.”

Riley blamed himself for the late Old Brighton chance, calling it “a dreadful mistake”.

Jack McNamara booted six goals. Picture: Aaron Cook

He said with all the haste and emotion at the final centre bounce, there was one too many forwards, no extras in defence and the Tonners had a man free on the wing.

Inevitably the ball fell to the winger, who found a forward 50m target.

“We’re all human and make mistakes,” he said.

“We will take the win.”

The forward line continues to be the Achilles’ heel for St Bernard’s, but power forward Jack McNamara stood up with a match-winning performance, booting six goals.

“He was simply outstanding,” Riley said.

“He competed on his opponent and two others and had about 10 shots.

“With (Chad) Jones going and a couple of others haven’t recaptured form in the forward line … we have lost two games while keeping the opposition to seven and five goals … but we will keep working, we have good players down there.”

Ruckman Zach O’Halloran and Charlie Vague, who tagged gun VAFA midfielder Nick Pavlou and kept him to 15 touches, also impressed the coach, along with Ben Huggard, who gathered 31 touches off the half-back flank.

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While fourth-placed Collegians only sit two points ahead of St Bernard’s, Riley said finals were a long way from his team’s thoughts.

“We’re just trying to improve to a consistent level of football,” he said.

“We have beaten Uni Blues, who are top, and lost to the second-bottom team.

“It was a great win away from home and now we really look forward to taking on Old Xaverians.”