GOOD energy by Taylors Lake led to an eye-opener on Saturday when it won its first game of 2017 against Pimpinio.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Lakers trailed for the first three quarters but a swing in momentum in the final 15 minutes pushed the side over the line winning 16.13 (109) to 15.12 (102).
Before the game started, both sides lined up face-to-face to remember Pimpinio’s Ryan Margetts, who died earlier this month.
Pimpinio was off to a blistering start as the ball made its first bounce and after the first quarter the side led 5.4 (34) to the Lakers 3.3 (21).
It was a high-scoring quarter in the second term with the Tigers managing six goals while the Lakers scored five.
Pimpinio led by 18 points coming into the main break.
Half-forward Ash Lawson for Taylors Lake had a strong first half winning several free kicks and scoring two goals.
After the main break both sides were attacking the football like it was the fourth quarter.
The Lakers had one more scoring opportunity than the Tigers and the momentum was starting to sway in the travelling side’s favour.
The Lakers trailed the Tigers 13.8 (86) to 11.8 (74) at three-quarter time.
The final quarter saw Tiger Liam Jakobi sent off after lashing out at Laker Jason Kannar.
Kannar was then handed two 50-metre penalties and scored a goal.
This led to a major handing over of the baton as the Lakers now looked like the side that would be the eventual winners.
The momentum swung into full effect when Jake Hinton scored a quick-fire goal with 10 minutes remaining.
It was a strong grind-out win for the side, while the Tigers couldn’t find the form the players had in the first half.
Lakers coach Jye Smith said this game meant a lot to both sides.
“We started off okay, we just weren’t clean with our skills,” he said.
“In the second it felt like we were slipping away a bit, we were still in the game but I feel like we dropped off a fair bit.
“We had the belief and the guys kept chipping away, we were a lot harder in the final quarter. We got lucky with some bounces, we dug deep and came away with a massive, massive win.”
Smith said his men were courageous and gave credit to the Tigers.
“They had a very even spread across the oval,” he said.
Tigers coach Josh Beddison said individual mistakes let the side down in the second half of the contest.
“We were a different side after half time – for some reason we got a bit ahead of ourselves,” he said.
“We played some very selfish football in the second half. It was disappointing.”