Beaumaris v De La Salle

Match Report

After a big re-fixturing by the VAFA, the Golds side welcomed three new sides into their division, one of which was the undefeated Beaumaris, who we faced this round. After the very, very, very long drive out there, the boys were focused and ready to show the opposition just how much we had improved since our practice match against them.

The first quarter showed glimpses of how the side wanted to play with Tyquin giving us first use out of the ruck and Welling and Liakakos linking up to score. We had momentary lapses though which allowed Beaumaris to very much stay in the game. De La leading by 8 points at quarter time. The second quarter was when the Golds boys really hit full stride, kicking four goals to two and stretching the lead out to 21 points at the main break. Tom Blakie was an absolute rock down in defence, stopping any movement from the opposition that came his way, while it was the rest of the defensive unit that started creating great attacking transitions.

The third quarter started off strongly, with Liakakos kicking the first goal for De La and stretching the lead out to four and a half goals. That was where the positivity ended for De La in the third quarter, some silly mistakes mixed in with some frustrating umpire decisions meant the lead was reduced to a mere 8 points at ¾ time. Beaumaris came out firing, scoring the first goal of the last quarter to reduce the margin to just a couple of points. Some great class and composure from an Aussie Kelly set shot returned the buffer to 8 points. Beaumaris then really stepped it up, dominating the next ten minutes of play, eventually taking the lead for the first time in the game with eight minutes to go. The game then turned into a real arm wrestle, both teams creating attacking plays but both teams’ defences standing up.

A couple of good opportunities for De La went begging with poor goal kicking and with 30 seconds to go, the Golds still found themselves down by two points. With the side throwing caution to the wind, the ball was sent deep inside 50 but with no mark taken all appeared lost. With 15 seconds to go it was simply an undeniable and unyielding will to win that got the side over the line. A huge tackle from Georgelin to dispossess Beaumaris, a ferocious attack on the footy from Boulter to spill the ball loose from the congested area, and the hard running and class from Hugo Cornell to get to the ball first, produce a blind turn to avoid being tackled, keep his balance whilst the opponent attempted to trip him and finally evade the smother attempt, snapping the ball through the big sticks from the pocket whilst all his momentum was heading towards the boundary line. The boys went crazy in celebration. A goal for the ages, produced under the most immense pressure, resulting in a win for the ages. With the siren sounding mid-celebrations, it was a moment that everyone who witnessed will never forget.