Shepp News |
It was hard to know, at the end, which side deserved the win more.
Shepparton United led from early in the first quarter, when Matt Rendina kicked truly from a set shot, but Benalla peppered the goals to such an extent in the final term that it had claims, too.
Ultimately, 18-year-old Saint Jackson Hourigan, in his eighth senior game and first of the year, slotted the match-tying goal with his second touch in the same sequence with barely 30 seconds on the clock.
A draw was, probably, a just result.
Plenty happened after Hourigan’s major, despite little time being left.
The Demons went forward after the ruck contest and veteran Matt Forys, who never stopped trying, chased the ball towards the boundary line and desperately kept it in play.
The problem was none of his teammates were quite as desperate.
A horde of Benalla defenders happily accepted the ball and, for a moment, looked set to piece together the winning chain, but the siren beat them to it.
United managed one behind in the last quarter, compared to the Saints’ 2.5, including successive Lachie Smith misses directly before Hourigan’s heroics.
Demons coach Marc Quarrell was fuming post-game, lambasting his players for their ball use and inability to support Forys in the dying stages.
‘‘I’m extremely disappointed. Full credit to Benalla, their pressure and everything was fantastic, but the way we butchered the footy was a disgrace,’’ Quarrell said.
‘‘We needed to slow the footy down in the last quarter. We were eight or 10 points up or whatever. It doesn’t matter how much you win by, as long as you win.
‘‘We kept trying to come back through the corridor to targets we couldn’t hit. I was very frustrated with that.
‘‘We won enough of our own footy to win the game, so that’s why I’m frustrated and annoyed with the end result.’’
Rendina, whose outstanding midfield performance set him apart as the best player afield, deserved so much better.
He had 38 disposals, kicked a goal and worked as hard as anybody. His transition from defence is complete.
Both sides could point to poor misses in front of goal, but, arguably, none were more costly than United full-forward Jason Eagle’s late in the last term.
Eagle (three goals), opposed to Brook Martyn all day, marked strongly — no more than 15
He can be forgiven, since he has won multiple matches for the Demons in similar circumstances.
Saint Paddy Hide twice fluffed gettable set shots for a total of one behind in the third quarter after United’s Ben Bingham turned the ball over to him each time.
Benalla playing coach Luke Morgan also had a pair of misses of differing difficulties across the third and fourth terms.
‘‘We have gained two points, but it’s a very hollow feeling when you have a draw,’’ Morgan said.
‘‘You go out there and slog your guts out and come off with two points, but, at the end of the day, we were down and the second half — again, like the Kyabram game — we had the better of it.
‘‘It started probably halfway through the second quarter. We started to play our brand of footy and be more decisive.
‘‘We definitely had our chances, but I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.’’
Three late goals to Shannon Campbell, Brad Henderson and Forys delivered the Demons a 19-point buffer at quarter-time and they were five and 16 points ahead at the ensuing breaks.
United’s best players, outside of Rendina, were Matt Di Bella, who shared the run-with role on Morgan with Sam Burls, and captain Sam Dawes.
James Martiniello, Alistair Jacka and Jake Pallpratt led the way for the Saints.
Dawes sustained concussion in a third-quarter head clash, while Benalla forward Nick Warnock hurt a hamstring.
