BACCHUS Marsh is still to shake the tag of Ballarat Football League’s ‘nearly’ men after a persistent but ultimately unsuccessful match against Redan on Saturday.
After their 5.10 (40) to 10.6 (66) defeat, the Cobras (ninth, 2-6) remain two games adrift of finals having played one more match than the teams sitting 5-8 on the table.
Having competed with Melton South, Sunbury and now Redan in losing efforts, Bacchus Marsh has shown some fighting qualities in Doug Hawkins’ first season as coach. But the win-loss count has again left Bacchus Marsh among the bottom teams.
The scoreboard at quarter time didn’t reflect the amount of effort that Bacchus Marsh put into the first term as Redan held a comfortable 24-point lead.
The second term continued in the same scrappy fashion with the Cobras’ pressure continuing to hold strong. It was the experienced Redan heads, such as Ash Barker, Brendan Peace and Matt Hyden, who led the way for the home side.
Bacchus Marsh combined as a team to provide its first goal for the contest, but that was its only major of the term. Redan held a 27-point lead at the main break.
It was the resilience of the Cobras, though, that continued to be an impressive factor, as Redan had to work tirelessly to generate scoring opportunities.
Hawkins was extremely happy with his side’s performance, saying it had had a decent crack.
“The second, third and fourth efforts from the boys were super, and their tackling and harassment of the opposition was fantastic,” he said. “Redan are a very good side and we forced them to make a lot of mistakes.”
— with Michael Hankin, Ballarat Courier
