Keilor is not overly concerned about its dip in form leading into the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division finals.
The Blues will go into their semi-final clash with the minor premier, Yarraville Club, this Saturday as underdogs on the back of three straight defeats.
Blues senior cricket operations manager Sean McManus said encouraging signs from last Saturday’s final-over defeat to Doutta Stars at Keilor Recreation Reserve were cause for optimism.
“There’s lots of positives we can take out of this game,” he said.
Keilor had a nervous wait on Saturday night to see if it was going to be playing in the finals.
After losing by four wickets to Doutta, the Blues needed fifth-placed Spotswood to lose to Yarraville Club. It did.
Now the Blues have to front up against Yarraville Club in a cut-throat situation.
“Yarraville Club have been the yardstick of the competition, so we’ll go in as the underdog,” McManus said. “But our boys will come out and throw everything they’ve got to try and be really competitive and hopefully get a win.”
The major plus to come out of Keilor’s loss to Doutta was its ability to bat the full 80 overs.
The Blues have struggled to occupy the crease this summer, but they may have struck form at the right time of the season.
That effort did not result in a win, though, with Doutta chasing down Keilor’s 7-210 in the last over of the day.
“Even though we went down, it went down to the last over and we were really competitive,” McManus said.
“It would be nice for us to go into the finals with some wins under our belt, but once you’re into the finals, it’s a new season and past form doesn’t mean anything.
“Batting 80 overs this week is a good platform going into the finals and our bowling has been doing well all year.”
