A week was a long time in football for St Albans, which kept its Essendon District Football League division 1 finals hopes alive on Saturday.
After a smashing from West Coburg after 13 changes leading into the match, the Saints were able to bounce back and beat Taylors Lakes on Saturday.
Saints coach Zammy Muhtari said while the loss to West Coburg wasn’t ideal, they were looking at the bigger picture.
“It is crazy, isn’t it?” he said. “It was good to get some guys back.
“We had 10 or 11 changes. We understood at the halfway point of the year that we would get some guys back, but we lost a few more.
“After the Hillside game it took a toll. We made the decision to give some of them an extra week off so that we could get them back for the last five to six games and have a tilt.”
Muhtari said having so many changes had impacted on what they had been able to do on match day.
He said they showed some positive signs against the Lions, who are also fighting for a finals spot.
“Yesterday [Saturday] we showed some real character that we were heading in the right direction for the most important part of the season,” he said.
“It was a tough game and it was a good opportunity in really tricky conditions.
“It was a high stakes game and a good contest.”
Muhtari said the wind was very swirly on Saturday and they were able to find a way to get the job done.
The Saints opened an early lead and managed to stay in front throughout the first three quarters to lead by 33 points at the final break.
The Lions came hard in the final quarter with the wind, but the Saints were able to kick a couple of goals to ensure a 10.12 (72)-8.9 (57) win.
“We showed a lot of character,” Muhtari said. “We’ve been able to keep our season alive.”
Brandon Coletta, Jack Sims, Andre Srour and Jacob Townsend kicked two goals each for the Saints.
It was their leaders that led the way in the win, with former skipper Jack Sims named best on ground.
Daniel DeVito, Jake Hobbs and Marc Lock were named the Lions best.
Taylors Lakes remains in fifth spot, but are now only percentage ahead of St Albans.
Muhtari said they would only continue to get better in the run home.
Alex Lancaster, Tobe Watson and Josh Klar ?? were among the players set to return in the coming weeks.
“There’s another four or five who should get back in the side in the next fortnight,” he said.
“We’ll get two next week, but might lose a couple as well. We had to be patient.”
Muhtari said despite having 25-26 injuries at times during the season, one of the most pleasing things had been able to field three teams every week.
The Saints face Moonee Valley this Saturday in another must win match.
Muhtari said nothing changes for them and they have to keep on winning.
