Bacchus Marsh has taken over the Ballarat Football League top spot following a gritty win over Lake Wendouree in their top of the table clash on Saturday.
On a day not made for pretty football, the Cobras shot out of the blocks at the Lakers’ home, but left the door open for the hosts with some wasteful kicking for goal.
But the Cobras held on against the wind in the final quarter to claim a 7.21 (63)-7.10 (52) win.
Bacchus Marsh coach Travis Hodgson said it was pleasing to hold on for the win after it looked like the Cobras may have blown their chances with poor accuracy.
“It was really good for us to go up there and beat a good side – I think it was one of our best wins,” Hodgson said.
“We wasted some opportunities early, kicked 3.9 early I think. With the wind blowing hard to one end, I thought we’d need to be four goals up at three-quarter time to be a chance.
“We only led by around 10 points, but we were able to match them in the last against the wind, which was really good to see.”
Kicking with a stiff breeze early, the Cobras could have nearly put the game to rest in a first quarter in which the ball went into the home side’s attacking 50 just once.
With the wind playing havoc with long balls, Bacchus Marsh took the unusual step of starting key talls Trent Angwin, Daniel Burton and Rhys McNay on the bench. The move paid off, the Cobras getting the jump on the home side with a fleet of smaller runners.
The visitors’ 27-0 quarter-time lead was whittled down to two points at the long break, setting the scene for a war of attrition in the second half.
Kicking with the wind, Bacchus Marsh found it far harder to drive forward as the hosts shut down their run and limited their scoring options.
With the Lakers coming home with the breeze, it looked like the Cobras might fall late.
But to the visitors’ credit, their defensive game came to the fore when it was needed most, keeping the Lakers to 2.3 for the final term and kicking 2.5.
The win was soured somewhat by a late hamstring injury to Kane White and a shoulder injury to under-16 player Jack Hehir.
Hodgson said the win showed what his side was capable of with finals looming.
“I thought we were in big trouble, but to do what we did into the wind in the last showed we deserved to win,” Hodgson said.
“We’ve got that breathing space to make sure we sew up that double chance … if we can win over Melton South and Darley in the next two, we should make top spot ours.”
