OVERLAND Reserve was home to some eye-catching football between Taylors Lakes and East Keilor on Saturday.
No matter the ladder position, these two rivals always seem to have close affairs and this one was no different.
Taylors Lakes controlled the game early with some great forward pressure and ability to lock it in their forward half.
The Lions kept East Keilor goalless in the first quarter, which seemingly set the tone for the day.
But the fight of the Cougars grew as the game went on, as they won each quarter after the first break.
An immense amount of forward entries was a positive for the home side and Dion Hill started to dominate with sharp leads and great conversion, kicking three goals in the second term.
He was rewarding his team in front of goal, but some costly misses stopped the Cougars from a real chance of taking the lead early.
Early in the second, Taylors Lakes’ pace created some exciting soccer-like goals, keeping it a tight contest.
Jake Hobbs was a real lift during this period for the Lions.
By winning clearances, working hard in defence and even taking some contested marks up forward, he helped catapult Taylors Lakes forward on many occasions.
Another excitement machine, East Keilor’s crowd favourite Matthew Knight, used his pace and elite goal sense to snag two for himself and really bring the home crowd alive.
After a highly intense first half, the pace and skill went up another level after half time.
This shone through Taylors Lakes’ James Vistarini, who simply couldn’t be stopped.
Bullying his way out of packs and using his run on the outside with classy ball-use to deliver to forwards, Vistarini seemed to be everywhere and gained many effective possessions while shrugging off the tag.
A real hard-fought game made it close all day and with many forward entries, East Keilor struggled at times to take the lead.
But on the three-quarter time siren, a tough set shot from Shaun Ujcich sent the home crowd into a frenzy as the Cougars finally hit the lead by a single point heading into the last.
East Keilor’s pace went up again to start the last quarter as they gained momentum and belief.
The Cougars dominated play early in the last, yet conversion on goal was again a problem and they found it hard to extend their lead.
East Keilor used its run off half back and Dion Hill was the beneficiary, kicking two more goals in the last to steady the ship.
A late Rory Alexander goal then got Taylors Lakes back to within three points.
But the real hero rose to the occasion in the 24th minute of a nail-biting final term.
A great mark and set shot bomb from 50 metres out from Vincent Madaffari put East Keilor nine points ahead.
Taylors Lakes tried hard to muscle their way towards goal late but missed some key opportunities at goal, and East Keilor held on to win an absolute thriller.
EAST KEILOR 12.16-88
Goal Kickers: D. Hill 5, M. Knight 2, S. Eldridge 2, V. Madaffari, S. Ujcich, L. Podhajski
Best Players: V. Madaffari, A. Arrowsmith, S. Eldridge, D. Hill, A. McVilly, B. Nicholl
TAYLORS LAKES 12.11-83
Goal Kickers: C. Vulic 3, J. McGrath 2, R. Alexander 2, J. Vistarini, J. McGrath, J. Bryan, D. Walachowski
Best Players: C. Vulic, J. Wright, N. Franzi, J. Hobbs, L. Hodgkin
