DIVISION TWO
IT was a weekend of vastly contrasting games in MPNFL Division Two action, as two matches were decided by a solitary point while two matches were decided by margins of over 80.
At Ballam Park, Karingal suffered an almighty scare as Red Hill battled hard to nearly upset their second placed opponents. The lead swung back and forth throughout the match, and going into three-quarter time it looked as if an upset was on the cards as Red Hill held a seven point lead away from home.
In a nail biting finish, Karingal were able to just gain the upper hand and held the narrowest of leads as the final siren sounded, taking out nervy win 9.12 (66) to 9.11 (65).
Karingal put together a great team performance to get the win, with eight individual goalkickers making a contribution.
Elsewhere, Langwarrin also had to fight tooth and nail to secure a one point victory, with their win coming against third placed Chelsea in a stunning upset performance.
While both sides traded blows and looked equally matched heading into half time, Chelsea were able to stamp their authority in the third quarter, heading into the main break with a comfortable 19 point lead.
Despite holding what looked like a strong lead, Chelsea were unable to weather the final quarter Langwarrin storm, as they raced home with a five goals to two blitz.
Curtis Bywater was Chelsea’s best on ground, as he booted six goals for the second consecutive week, but his effort was topped by another dominant Jesse Murphy display for Langwarrin, as he kicked seven goals. Murphy has now scored a remarkable 18 goals in his past three games, with his seven on Saturday helping his side to a thrilling 15.8 (98) to 14.13 (97) victory.
Another struggler for the season in Somerville also celebrated a win on the weekend, although they did so in a much more comfortable fashion than their Langwarrin or Karingal rivals. Hosting Tyabb at home, Somerville impressed with a dominant and assertive display of football.
Seven goals from Somerville player/coach Andrejs Everitt in a best on ground performance was the highlight of the day, as his side ran home with a more than comfortable 82 point victory, with the score being 20.12 (132) to 7.8 (50) at the final siren.
If things were easy for Somerville, they were even more so for Dromana, who pummelled a helpless Pearcedale to extend their unbeaten start to the season.
The tenth placed Pearcedale were always outsiders for this clash, and the game went as expected. Pearcedale could only manage one goal in the entire first half of football, and went into the half time break down by an insurmountable 78 points.
During the second half, Pearcedale looked more threatening, but ultimately they could do little to stop the rampant Dromana train that is currently running right through the middle of the league. Dromana finished with 12 individual goalkickers, with Ethan Johnstone and Jack Gipp the best among them with four apiece.
Dromana will face off against Langwarrin next weekend unbeaten, top of the ladder, and full of confidence following a 111 point win, 6.12 (48) to 25.9 (159).
Crib Point also had a great weekend, as they hosted Devon Meadows at home on Saturday. Sitting rooted to the bottom of the ladder after a winless start to the year, the home side came racing out of the blocks to take a 12 point lead into the quarter time break.
The home side held their lead throughout the day but couldn’t gain enough momentum to land the killer blow, as they went into three-quarter time only ten points ahead their Devon Meadows opponents.
Despite the pressure, Crib Point held strong to pick up their first win of the year, running out 9.8 (62) to 6.11 (47) winners.
