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Old Scotch defeats Old Brighton

08, Tuesday, June, 2010

With the club facing 9th placed Old Brighton, the match loomed as potential relegation indicator for the remainder of the season.
With the thirds having experienced the best of the weather at 9.30, the firsts were initially greeted with some brief drizzle, however the ominous dark clouds loomed over from the sea. The under 19 with the bucket hands, Sam Barnett, was welcomed into the side for his debut game and it wasn't long before he was involved in the action.
Scotch kicked to the South Road end in the first term and several wasted opportunities early could have proved costly. Scotty Sherwen made his mark midway through the quarter with the first goal for the Cardinals, only to be rewarded with several stitches in his lip after a heavy bump. Sam Barnett was lively with a terrific chase-down tackle, before eluding an opponent and being rewarded with his first Premier grade goal with a classy snap. In a tightly contested quarter, Scotch went into quarter-time with a 13 point lead.
Continuing their dominance from the first quarter, Old Scotch through Luke Brennan and Will Lewis continued to press the scoreboard. The sun was out but slippery conditions made precise skills tremendously important. Sam Barnett ensured his name would be in the multiple goalkickers column of the paper, getting away from his opponent for a perfunctory mark and goal. A blistering James Bowden run from the back pocket through the midfield was the highlight of the quarter for the Scotchies. Nearing the half-time break, Scotch's lead was quashed as Old Brighton pressed and poured on 3 late goals to take a 4 point lead into half-time. A skirmish after the siren between the two teams quickly dissipated, but showed that there was plenty of feeling left in the game.
With the rain starting to come down heavier and the wind picking up across the bay, the third quarter was a battle of wills. As stoppage after stoppage crowded any fluid ball movement, the Cardinals bashed, crashed, and ultimately scrambled the ball forward trying to find a breakthrough. As 25 minutes passed on the clock with Scotch still 4 points adrift, there had to come a breaking point. Paul Ellis slid into a contest in the forward pocket and unfortunately collected the Brighton player too high. He was penalised with a 15 minute unreplaceable break which was to test the Cardinals even more. However, the bump seemed to provide a catalyst, as moments later Scott Sherwen was caught high and slotted through a timely goal. From here, Adam Houlihan was on the end of a Rob Ferraro pass and laconically put through his first. Mere minutes later, Houla received a free kick and with a 50 metre barrel in the pummelling rain, Old Scotch had their third for the quarter. Mark Passador snapped a goal on the siren and the game had unequivocally turned in the Scotchies' fashion, a 4 point deficit now a 24 point lead.
Unrelenting rain continued to hammer the oval in the last as supporters scrambled for cover. Old Scotch could have been content to simply protect their lead, however they continued to attack, and a Will Lewis snap from the pocket all but sealed victory.
From there on in the win was a mere formality, however that did not stop Sam Barnett putting through his third and signalling the arrival of a future star. Richard Eva did what no other player could, by taking a contested overhead mark in the goalsquare, but shanked it from 10 metres out. From the resulting kick-in, Ash Walsh taught him how it should be done, receiving the ball tucked into the boundary line and on the run from 30 slotting home the CANNON TOYOTA GOAL OF THE DAY.
The final scoreline read Old Scotch 12.11.83 to Old Brighton 6.13.49 - a 34-point win.
With the competition bye next week, Old Scotch will aim to regroup and come out looking for revenge against Old Trinity.