DARLEY stretched its unbeaten run towards the Ballarat Football League finals series to seven games in a row via its comfortable 43-point victory against Bacchus Marsh at Darley Park on Saturday.
The Devils piled on six goals to none in the second quarter, all but putting the contest beyond the Cobras, and then cruised to a 13.17 (95) to 8.4 (52) result over their crosstown rivals.
Click on the image below for our gallery of the big game.
While it was not Darley’s most impressive win in the past two months, it was solid and important in the context of the season.
Significantly, it sees the Devils on 10 wins, equal with second-placed Sunbury. But Darley is fifth on the table due to its relatively modest percentage of 120.98.
It means the Devils will have to rely on wins, not percentage, in their bid to break into the top three.
Darley scored the first goal, a snap under pressure from Brendan Porter. From then on, the Cobras double-teamed Porter to try to limit his influence on the match. It stifled his output but Porter still managed to provide a focal point for the Devils.
The rest of the first quarter was relatively even, with Bacchus Marsh holding a one-point lead at the first change.
Darley took control in the second term through Jake Edwards, who was clearly the home side’s best.
Jake Zeestraten snapped the first for the quarter from the boundary, followed by goals to Sam Hitchings, Porter and Zeestraten again, all in the first 10 minutes of the term.
Accurate kicking in the third quarter brought Bacchus Marsh back into the contest, the margin whittled to four goals.
But Darley finished with three goals to one in the final quarter from 11 scoring shots, compared with Bacchus Marsh’s one goal from just two opportunities
– Ballarat Courier
