The Courier |
DESPITE an aborted attempt to chair 200-game club legend Tim McKay from the ground, Skipton celebrated his milestone in the best way, with a vital win over Newlyn at home on Saturday.
The Emus continue to ring the doorbell of the Central Highlands Football League top eight, dominating the second half and outscoring the Cats seven goals to three to run out 20-point winners.
Skipton coach Matt Rea summed it up.
"This was a must-win game for us," he said. "I thought we responded well after half-time and showed a lot of character.
"The most pleasing thing is we keep getting better each week."
Although McKay was held goalless by disciplined Cat Lachlan Shaw, Rea emphasised the big man's importance to the team.
"He straightens us up and provides plenty of crumbs for the smaller guys," Rea said.
The key beneficiary was Tyrone Ross, who underlined his best-on-ground performance with four goals.
Three of these came in five decisive minutes late in the third term, when he capitalised on an errant kick-in and two further lapses from the Cats' defence to open up a 15-point buffer at the last change.
Ross had plenty of assistance. The two Lachies, Wilkie and Cleeland, were outstanding around the ground and deep in defence while yet another Lachie (Green) snagged a great goal from the boundary in a free-scoring first term.
Josh Draffin opened the Emus' account with a long off-break to ignite a goal-scoring spree from the home side.
The strong marking of key forward Cameron Valentine (three goals) gave the Newlyn defence some headaches, while Brett Conroy and Sam Peeters were rock solid in defence.
The Cats kept the scoreboard attendants busy with a five-goal second term, punctuated by spearhead Adam Beattie's third and fourth goals.
And when star playmaker Nathan Skewes made the Emus pay following a 50m penalty, Newlyn had worked its way to a four-point lead.
But the Cats, despite fighting back to gain the lead at half-time, were left to lament dropping another winnable game and now face an uphill battle to compete in back-to-back finals campaigns.
The Emus did not let McKay down.
Valentine courageously returned to the field after being helped from the ground with what looked like a nasty knee injury to snag a crucial last-term goal, and when Corey Fothergill snapped his third, the roar of the Skipton faithful heralded a stirring victory.
