ONE of the most talked about games through the pre-season lived up to the hype and more.
Through the first half the Panthers had the game under control, being quicker to the ball, getting more numbers to feed out of congestion and immense forward pressure that not even the powerhouse of Aberfeldie could stop.
Interestingly, Pascoe Vale only led the inside 50 count by 10 to Aberfeldie’s nine by quarter time, which gave the home team a lot of hope and positivity.
Caleb Hislop and VFL-listed Wilson Berry were the epitome of this game plan, using their immense pace through midfield and half back, playing on at all costs and hitting targets up forward… complementing Abers’ press towards defence then speed back towards goal.
Abers did lift in the second quarter but even after getting even more inside 50s, conversion was low because of Luke Foster’s intercept marking.
Wisely coming off his man or playing the spare in defence role for the Panthers, Foster was able to stop many of Aberfeldie’s long entries all day and then quickly catapult back forward, making many counter-attack goals for Pascoe Vale possible.
As the game continued to get closer, more tactics were on display for exciting play.
Pascoe Vale, in the second half especially, started a tactic to play through the middle as much as possible.
With their classy foot skills, the Panthers were able to snag some end-to-end goals.
Talk of recruits had many eyes eager to see how Pascoe Vale would do and one player in particular was a work horse all day.
Former Carlton player Matthew Watson was a presence up forward that could not be stopped for the Panthers, grabbing many contested marks, goal assists and two goals to also add to his name.
Aberfeldie regaining the lead after three quarters didn’t break the way Pascoe Vale wanted to go about things.
Much-talked about former Kangaroo Lachie Hansen made for a fascinating match-up against Jacob Craven.
The Panthers looked and went for Hansen all day, but a big reason Aberfeldie were able to stay in the game was the body work, spoils and hustle that Craven created, keeping Hansen to only one goal and low impact all day.
This game came right down to the wire.
Increased numbers around the footy brought scoring to a halt before the last thrilling three minutes.
With Aberfeldie trying to will there way back into it with both teams aggressively attacking through packs, Kyle Reimers was able to kick an absolute bomb from 55 metres out, giving his side the lead.
But Patrick Veszpremi had other ideas, using his pace get a quick goal back for the Panthers with only a few minutes left, stunning the packed home crowd.
With a minute left, Aberfeldie needed to send it inside forward 50 and after working hard to get it in there, Sam Cattapan proved their saviour, kicking a clutch winner to seal the victory and sending the crowd on Abers hill into a frenzy.
ABERFELDIE 12.9-81
Goal Kickers: J. Madden 3, J. Foster 2, C. Johns 2, S. Cattapan 2, K. Reimers, L. Blackwell, J. Peters
Best Players: J. Craven, C. Hislop, J. Foster, S. Rasinac, J. Cubillo, L. Davis
PASCOE VALE 11.13-79
Goal Kickers: P. Veszpremi 2, D. Petrone 2, M. Watson 2, B. Inglis 2, D. Soncin, J. Polizzi, L. Hansen
Best Players: L. Foster, C. Anderson, B. Inglis, K. Hardingham, M. Watson, P. Veszpremi
