PENINSULA LEAGUE
MT ELIZA has set up a second semi-final showdown with Frankston YCW after beating Pines by 10 goals in the qualifying final on Saturday at Frankston Park.
The highly fancied Redlegs booted the first nine goals of the game before Pines kicked its first major.
Pines managed to go toe-to-toe with the Redlegs from the five minute mark of the third term, booting eight goals to nine in that period, eventually going down 18.8 (116) to 8.7 (55).
While some of the higher profile players for the Redlegs were a little quiet, the likes of Robbie Turnbull, Jordan Capkin and Jimmy Anwyl got under the guard of the Pythons.
Turnball booted four first half goals, including three in a row in the second quarter, Capkin snagged three and Anwyl did a sensational shut down job on Guy Hendry. Matt Stanley also finished with three majors and Dan Gormley was dangerous with a couple.
Matt Lillie was sensational in the ruck for Mt Eliza and Rohan Heasley was at his magical best.
The Redlegs were sharp, despite missing the likes of Justin Van Unen and Darren Booth.
Pines went into the match with 10 players who had not tasted finals footy.
Aaron Edwards was unstoppable, clearly the best player on the ground with five goals.
The Pythons went into the clash without the best full back in the competition in Jack Fisher, the competition’s best centre half forward in Tim Bongetti and tough onballer Paul Scanlon missed with a niggle too.
Both Bongetti and Scanlon will return for the first semi final.
Pines did well in the opening quarter to restrict Mt Eliza to just two goals, despite them having the aid of a four goal breeze.
It was the second quarter that lost the game for Pines, kicking two behinds with the wind while the opposition banged on four goals against it.
“The second quarter is the one that got us,” Pines coach Pat Swayne said.
“All the key stats had us matching them (Mt Eliza) for three quarters but they got hold of us in that second quarter.
“At quarter time, despite the fact we didn’t use the ball all that well, I thought holding them to two goals with the wind was a good start.
“However, we were bit like deer in the headlights in the second quarter and it was like we only saw green and red jumpers out on the field – we just kept kicking the ball to them.
“As you could imagine, there was a fair amount of negativity around the place after the game but other than a bad second quarter, it wasn’t a write off.
“We have some finals experience in those 10 players now and they know what to expect.
“We worked hard to earn the double chance and now we need to use it and make it work for us.
“We’ll bounce back, that I’m sure of,” Swayne said.
Pines will play Bonbeach after the Sharks got the job done against Edithvale.
The Eagles were in the contest early before the Sharks took control and got the job done when it counted.
