Tara Murray
Bacchus Marsh’s young squad has got some reward for effort with the Cobras getting their first win of the Ballarat Football League season on Saturday.
Having slowly improved as the season has progressed, the Cobras were able to hold their nerve late against Lake Wendouree to get the points, 10.8 (68)-8.10 (58).
Cobras coach Jason Williams said it was nice to finally get that win on the board.
“I said to the lads after the game it was nice to get the win and get reward for that effort,” he said.
“The first six rounds we’ve improved a lot since round one, but if you don’t get the results, that can be missed.
“They sure feel much better if they win and it’s nice to know they went well, without me having to tell them.”
Lake Wendouree kicked the only goal of the match, before the Cobras took the lead. They were still in front by four points at the final break.
Williams said they were never able to break away from the Lakers.
“Outside of the first goal we led all game, but we couldn’t get away from them,” he said.
“It was a game of effort and I said to them, don’t lose it on effort and make sure you show up and dig deep.
“That is what we did. Some really big moments went our way.”
The final quarter the Cobras were able to kick two goals straight, while the Lakers kicked just six points.
Williams said while the Lakers were getting those shots they were from difficult spots and under plenty of pressure.
Jake Owen kicked four goals for the Cobras in a best on ground performance.
Williams said Owen really led from the front in what was an otherwise even team performance.
“Jake was sensational, “he said. “He had 15 marks and 13 were contested marks.
“He was important for us in not only competing, but winning the contest. We’re done a lot of work the last month and it’s paid off and certainly helped us win the game.”
The Cobras have this weekend off with the King’s Birthday weekend.
Williams said it was a good time for the bye, not only for the players but everyone across the board after a busy start to the season.
While they have a win under their belt, nothing changes for the Cobras when they get back on the field.
“There’s definitely some things to continue to work on,” he said. “In the position we are in, there’s always something to get better at and it’s usually big things.
“We look at things in four week chunks and we have one more in this four week period and then we’ll review.
“ It was really good to get the win, but we didn’t play as good as other parts of other games. To get the win not playing our best footy is another skill to have, which is good.”
