Gisborne keeps faint Bendigo Football League finals hopes alive with rousing second-half effort against South Bendigo
GISBORNE resuscitated its faint Bendigo Football League finals hopes with a rousing second-half performance against South Bendigo on Saturday.
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GISBORNE resuscitated its faint Bendigo Football League finals hopes with a rousing second-half performance against South Bendigo on Saturday.
The Dogs prevailed 9.16 (70) to 4.3 (27) after managing only one goal in the opening half at Gardiner Reserve, moving to within one win of fifth-placed Kyneton.
Ryan Baker, Tom May and Ollie Messaoudi were outstanding in the 43-point triumph.
But with games against top-four sides Eaglehawk, Sandhurst and Strathfieldsaye to come, Gisborne coach Rod Sharp admitted his side faced an uphill task to feature in finals.
“It’s probably a remote chance for us with the games in front of us,” Sharp said.
“But from (Saturday), from a club perspective, all three grades had good results.”
Sharp said his side would have to be at its best to scrape into the top five.
The Dogs’ ferocity at the contest helped them arrest a nine-point half-time deficit and overrun South Bendigo.
“We had 102 tackles for the game, you’re not going to lose a game of footy when you apply that much pressure,” Sharp said.
“(In) the second half, we just ran away with it. We wanted to win and put the effort in.”
Baker, a Calder Cannons-listed player, finished with four goals as Gisborne recorded its fifth victory of 2015.
“He’s a first-year Under-18s (player) who’s on the Cannons list, he’s played four TAC Cup games this year,” Sharp said.
“We brought him back in yesterday ... and he wasn’t too bad in the first half.
“His second half in the conditions was just outstanding. He probably should have finished with six or seven (goals).
“He marked the ball on the ground like nobody else was marking it. He’s got a really bright future.”
In other results, Kyneton was handed a 68-point loss by premiership contender Golden Square.
The Tigers went down 21.15 (141) to 11.7 (73) at Kyneton Showgrounds despite the best efforts of Joel Stevenson, Josh Houlden and Thomas Bourke.
Kyneton faces a huge test against reigning premier Strathfieldsaye this weekend, before a season-defining match against Castlemaine in Round 16.