St. Kevin's Old Boys have tied up the double chance position on the ladder with a week to spare after a convincing win against fellow finals aspirant Old Brighton at a chilly Brighton Beach Oval today. In front of a few hardy souls who had made the trip to the Seaside location for the top four encounter, SKOB led from start to finish and held off the locals who fought back in the last quarter. The win puts SKOB 3 games clear in second spot, locks away the double chance and guarantees that they will play Collegians in the first week of the finals.
In weather that put new meaning to the word chilly, SKOB fielded a team strengthened by some key inclusions and went with the aid of the breeze in the first quarter. The match was played mostly in the SKOB half, but errant kicking for goal saw SKOB register only 3 majors from 9 scoring shots. Old Brighton were playing their home ground well and making life difficult for the visitors, and when the players headed for the first huddle with the score 24 to 8 in their favour, the coaching staff knew that SKOB would need to lift their rate in the second term.
Brighton enjoyed the breezee in the second quarter and were able to even things up on the scoreboard. Many sides have come to Brighton Beach Oval and been overcome by the unique conditions here with the breeze coming in off the bay. The home side certainly have an advantage here and were showing this in the second quarter as they kicked 3 goals to SKOB's 1 in a reverse of the first, and at the half there was only 3 points in it, SKOB leading 30 to 27.
Kicking to the scoring end in the all important third quarter, SKOB showed that they had adjusted to the conditions and were now getting value for their dominance in possession. Boosted by the return of Billy Kanakis with two goals and Shaun Kennedy (playing his 100th game) who also kicked two goals, SKOB piled on 8 for the quarter and kept Old Brighton to just a solitary major. In scenes similar to the previous week, the SKOB effort after half time was powerful and again was the difference in the match. By the time the players changed ends for the last quarter, SKOB were well in command leading 86 to 34.
Despite having the breeze, Old Brighton were unable to chip away at the SKOB lead and it was the visitors who always looked in control to the end. Kicking 9 goals to 2 in the second half capped a dominant performance that no doubt pleased the hardy fans and coaching staff. Shaun Kennedy received a lift off the park as he celebrated his milestone with a convincing win.
SKOB 13.16.94
Old Brighton 6.5.41
Goals: Kanakis 2, Kennedy 2, Corboy 2, Matheson 2, Manivong, Critchley, Jok, Brown, Adduci Best: Kanakis, Gilham, Critchley, Lynch, Lagastes, Corboy
In other news, Ed Ring booted 15 goals for the SKOB Thirds (Gold) in their big win over Uni Blues. Jarrod Nash kicked 4 in the same match as he celebrated 150 games for SKOB
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