The sun may have been shining, but the ground was sloppy and the wind had a bite during Saturday’s clash between Shepparton United and Mooroopna.
Heading into the match, the Cats were favoured to claim a scalp away from home, but improved performances from United during the past few Goulburn Valley League matches set this game up to be a tight affair.
After Thursday night’s torrential rain, the Deakin Reserve deck was slippery underfoot and, as the game wore on, the contest became scrappy.
The first 15 minutes of the opening quarter were tightly contested before Mooroopna gained ascendancy and quickly skipped away to a 17-point lead (14-31).
A tough contest left United co-captain Jesse Cucinotta worse for wear as the midfielder left the ground with a shoulder injury and wouldn’t return to the field for the rest of the game.
A strong contested grab deep in the forward line from United’s Liam Serra allowed the Demons to steal a goal back on the quarter-time siren, with Serra converting from 25m out on a tough angle.
The Demons carried the momentum from the late first-quarter goal into the second term, booting the first to cut the margin back to five points (26-31).
For the next 15 minutes, the game turned into an arm wrestle, with neither side really impacting the scoreboard.
United co-vice-captain Ed Adams kicked the last major (four goals for the match) of the first half before the two teams entered the sheds.
An upset seemed to be on the cards early in the second half, as United stormed out of the gates after half-time to take the lead for the first time in the match (41-40).
However, after a hit-and-miss start to the second half, the Cats exploded by kicking four quick goals — the first two off the boot of flying half-back Angus Hanrahan — to build their lead in a scintillating period of football.
During that third-quarter pile-on, Mooroopna was able to build a match-winning lead as the quarter finished with a commanding 33-point advantage (49-82).
At the three-quarter time huddle, United coach Duane Hueston said that while the Demons hadn’t dropped off during the Cats’ hot run after half-time, they had failed to rise with Mooroopna during that third term.
Hueston implored his players to take risks and be creative, using the old footballing adage that you would rather play attacking and potentially lose by 10 goals than act conservatively and die a slow death.
A spirited United emerged in the final quarter and was in control of the contest early, kicking 2.5 to cut the margin back to 16 points (66-82) halfway through the last.
However, it was too little, too late for the Demons as the Cats ran out winners, 11.13 (79) to 14.13 (97).
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Shepparton United’s Samuel McInneny mans the mark. Photo by Megan FisherImage 2 of 9
Mooroopna’s Dom Gugliotti and Shepparton United Ed Adams fight hard. Photo by Megan FisherImage 3 of 9
Mooroopna young gun Xavier Chandler. Photo by Megan FisherImage 4 of 9
Mooroopna’s Rory Huggard attempts a spoil on Shepparton United’s Ed Adams. Photo by Megan FisherImage 5 of 9
It was slippery and sloppy conditions at Deakin Reserve on Saturday with Mooroopna’s Coby McCarthy ending up caked in mud. Photo by Megan FisherImage 6 of 9
Shepparton United’s Jordan Wiggins and Mooroopna’s Coby McCarthy battle it out in the air. Photo by Megan FisherImage 7 of 9
Mooroopna’s Isaac Dowling flying across half-back. Photo by Megan FisherImage 8 of 9
Shepparton United’s Kye Jeffery is tackled by Mooroopna’s Dom Gugliotti. Photo by Megan FisherImage 9 of 9
Mooroopna’s Nathan Drummond mid-air. Photo by Megan FisherMooroopna coach John Lamont, while not impressed with the Cats’ overall performance, was happy to earn the scrappy victory.
“In the end, we came here to get the four points,” he said.
“Were we impressive?
“Not really.
“Our error rate over the course of the day was too high, I felt.
“Some of the errors were caused by Shepp United’s pressure, but I’m not talking about those; I am talking about the ones where we just missed; in a tennis term, they were unforced errors.”
Despite the hit-and-miss performance, Lamont said a number of Cats stepped up when it counted during the all-important third quarter.
“I thought Ben Hicks in the backline; I thought had a terrific game and Keelin Betson through the middle and Bryce Rutherford and Dom Gugliotti, Jed Woods, Coby James, those boys through the middle,” he said.
“Kobie Issell up in our forward line a young player, fresh out of under-18s.
“He did some good things as well.
“Angus Hanrahan kicked two goals in two minutes and basically fired the boys up, which is what you need.”
Although the Cats’ third-term performance was impressive, Lamont wished it didn’t require the Demons to take the lead to light the spark that would ignite Mooroopna.
“They hit the front in the third quarter and it was like a switch getting flicked, wasn’t it?” he said.
“All of a sudden, it was three goals in four minutes and that was the space in the game at the end.
“Unfortunately it took for them to hit the front for us to really get going.
“You don’t want it to be that way, but that is the reality of the human being and the psychology of the game; they have hit the front and, all of a sudden, our blokes have been jolted and lifted and really responded and played some really good footy.
“That’s why this game never fails to throw up challenges because of psychology; it is 22 brains and everything that goes with it, so there are a few layers to it.”
Mooroopna’s next fixture is a bye round, while Shepparton United will travel to Rochester in round nine.