Melton’s hold on a Vic League Three finals place received a big boost at the weekend when the Mustangs scored an upset win over the ladder-leading Croydon Ranges.
With Croydon dropping just two games for the season, and Melton with just three wins but sitting fourth on the ladder, it looked like a mismatch on paper, but no one told the Mustangs as they shot out of the blocks early and held on in the second half to secure a valuable three points.
Melton coach Ryan Self said the 5-3 win showed his side was capable of matching it with anyone in the competition.
“We’ve been saying for the past few weeks that we’ve hit our niche for how we want to play, and this showed what we can do,” Self said.
“It shows that our best hockey is better than the top side at the moment, so we’re pretty happy with how we’re playing and our confidence is up which shows in our play.”
The scoreboard was ticking over from early in the game, with Melton holding a 2-1 lead after 10 minutes.
From there it become more of an arm wrestle, until two goals to the Mustangs in the final two minutes of the half broke the game open.
After half-time it was a matter of hanging on for the home side, with Croydon coming at them hard in an attempt to reverse the result.
They showed their class with two second half goals, but the damage of the first half could not be reversed as the Mustangs held off a late charge to secure their best win of the season.
Steve Lawrence was a constant threat up forward with two goals, giving him 15 for the season, while Lachie Vallance, Adrian May, and skipper Andrew Arnold all scored a goal in the crucial win.
The majority of the goals came from good team play, sharing the ball around and opening up gaps rather than driving the ball straight into the circle and trying to force a short corner.
Self said the importance of getting their best team on the field and playing as a unit in the run towards finals could not be underestimated.
“It’s all starting to come together, and we had some injuries early in the year so it’s been a while since we’ve put the full side together,” he said.
“Now it’s all coming together, and at the right time of the season so it’s all falling into place.
“We’re pretty keen to get into finals right now, and we’ve got a habit of beating the top teams when we need to so we can’t wait to get through these last five games.”
