VTCA 2018-19: Airport West St Christophers finals hopes on the line in tough finish to Division 1 West season
Consecutive matches against the top-two sides in Division 1 West could determine whether Airport West St Christophers features in finals this summer.
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Consecutive matches against the top-two sides in Division 1 West could determine whether Airport West St Christophers features in finals this summer.
The West Saints take on ladder leader Druids in Round 11, which starts on Saturday, before facing Tullamarine in Round 12.
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The club is one game behind the Demons in fourth with 36 points, but has Altona North (33 points) breathing down its neck.
The fourth and fifth-placed teams clash in the last round of the regular season, a fixture which could decide the outcome of both their campaigns.
“We are a little bit under the pump,” West Saints coach Mark Pallini said.
“There’s four games to go and we probably need to win three out of the four to consolidate.” Airport West St Christophers retained its top-four spot on Saturday with a 10-run victory over Laverton.
The West Saints scrambled to 120 batting first at Laverton Park before three-wicket hauls from Fintan Brazil (3-7), Scott Woolcock (3-13) and Luke Macumber (3-23) secured their fifth win of the summer.
Pallini said he hoped the club’s Round 9 defeat to then winless Greenvale Kangaroos would not come back to haunt his side.
“If we’d won that, it’s all big ifs, we could be sitting second and playing for top spot this game (against Druids),” he said.
Airport West St Christophers has little margin for error, although it will be favoured to defeat sixth-placed Deer Park in Round 13.
“We really want to put ourselves in a good position come finals,” Pallini said.
“It would be nice if we could have a home final. We have just got to win every game from here. That’s the main focus.”
Aberfeldie (third) is equal on points with the West Saints but boasts a superior percentage.
Tullamarine (42 points) is one game clear in second, with Druids a further three points ahead.
“It’s starting to get a bit close in that top-four now,” Pallini said.
“Us and Aberfeldie, we’re three points clear of Altona with some big games coming up.”
Altona North (6-149) upset Druids (9-147), Tullamarine (4-96) downed Deer Park (93) and Greenvale Kangaroos (103) shocked Aberfeldie (89) in Saturday’s other fixtures.
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