A FREAKISH goal to Andrew Knezevic in the dying seconds has seen Albion complete a remarkable back-from-the-dead one-point win over local rivals Sunshine Kangaroos in the Western Region Football League division 1 at JR Parsons Reserve on Saturday.
The Cats clawed their way back from a 32-point three-quarter-time deficit with a barnstorming six-goal-to-one last quarter sparked by five-goal star Todd Finco and Jason Butina.
But it was Knezevic who put the exclamation mark on the game, drifting in third man in a ruck contest and somehow getting boot to ball soccer-style from mid-air and making a connection to kick a miraculous winning goal.
“It was certainly a slice of luck,” Cats coach Mark Greenshields told the Weekly.
“But he had the presence of mind, late in the game and with a lot of traffic around the contest, to get boot to ball. It was a critical play at the end of the day.”
Click on the image below for our gallery of the Division 1 Deer Park v Hoppers Crossing clash.
The Cats had played patches of good football in the opening three quarters, but nothing that pointed to a victory for the hoops.
They had just three goals and 12 fewer scoring shots by the end of the third quarter.
The door was still ajar for the Cats due to the woeful inaccuracy of the Kangaroos in front of goal, who, to that point, had turned just eight of 24 scoring shots into goals.
“Our first quarter was actually really strong,” Greenshields said.
“We played some good footy up to three-quarter-time.”
The Cats’ last-quarter run still came out of the blue. They were simply untouchable in the final 30 minutes.
Greenshields paid tribute to the unbelievable desire of his side to get back into the contest.
“That fighting spirit and never-beaten attitude was really pleasing,” he said.
“The guys kept coming and coming and coming until they could get the job done.”
Finco was best-afield for his elusiveness and finishing.
Ruckman Julian Storey had a big impact with his height.
Butina was singled out for extra praise after holding Roos forward Patrick Wiggins to two goals and pushing forward in the last term to boot an important goal.
“We had an opportunity to throw him forward. When Wiggins went off the ground, he went forward and kicked a goal,” Greenshields said.
“It was a pivotal moment in the game.
“Wiggins went off the ground and Jason went forward. He was only forward for about 30 seconds, but marked and goaled in that time.”
Greenshields said the win was a timely confidence booster for his 2-3 side and one that gets them back “in the hunt” with the other teams jostling for the lower positions in the top five.
WRFL SCOREBOARD
Division 1
Albion 9.12 (66) d Sunshine 8.17 (65); Hoppers Crossing 13.9 (87) d Deer Park 11.9 (75); North Footscray 11.14 (80) lt Port Melbourne Colts 17.14 (116); Spotswood 12.11 (83) d Altona 7.14 (56); St Albans 19.12 (126) d Sunshine Heights 3.7 (25)
Next round: Altona v North Footscray (Grant Reserve), Port Melbourne Colts v Albion (JL Murphy Reserve), Sunshine Heights v Spotswood (Ainsworth Reserve), St Albans v Hoppers Crossing (Kings Park Reserve), Sunshine v Deer Park (Kinder Smith Reserve).
Division 2
Braybrook 11.5 (71) lt Coburg Districts 14.17 (101); Laverton 6.4 (40) lt Caroline Springs 12.8 (80); Parkside 39.28 (262) d North Sunshine 4.5 (29); West Footscray 8.10 (58) lt Yarraville-Seddon 21.18 (144); Wyndhamvale 12.16 (88) d Albanvale 5.10 (40)
Next round: Albanvale v West Footscray (Robert Bruce Oval), Caroline Springs v Wyndhamvale (Town Centre Oval), Glenorden v Parkside (Heathdale Oval), North Sunshine v Braybrook (Dempster Park), Yarraville-Seddon v Coburg Districts (Yarraville Oval).
