By MICHAEL HABER
COBURG Districts managed to pull off a famous victory against Jacana on Saturday, winning by eight points.
It was a perfect day for football, the sun was shining and there was only a slight breeze.
The home team came out swinging in the first quarter, keeping the ball in their forward half for the majority of the term.
The Lions’ midfield and forward line were dominant and rarely let the ball escape but when it did, Jacana made sure that they scored.
A great snap goal by Daniel Arnold stemmed the flow of Coburg’s attacks.
Rhys Brown was the man however, to keep Jacana in the game.
His pressure in the forward half earned him two free kick goals to keep the scores close going into quarter time, with his team trailing 34-18.
Jacana reversed the momentum in their favour in the second quarter.
Smalls Rhys Brown and Jake Galizia showed that size doesn’t matter, taking on their much bigger opponents and being rewarded for it.
If Brown wasn’t scoring the goals he was setting them up, displaying his attacking prowess.
Coburg Districts weren’t using the ball as well as they did in the first quarter but still managed to stay in the game.
They had a scare during the term though with Luke Vesnaver having to put his shoulder back in its socket, but he managed to continue on playing.
Brown was all over the Lions’ defence as he beat two defenders to score a goal on the boundary.
Jacana had an eight-goal second quarter, putting themselves ahead of the Lions by 14 points.
The intensity rose in the third quarter.
The Lions and Jaguars both struggled as each backline and midfield lifted.
Coburg Districts locked the ball in their forward half of the ground for most of the quarter, limiting Jacana to only score two points in the term.
When the ball was rebounded out of the Lions’ forward line, James Scheriani was often there to smash it right back in.
By the end of the intense quarter, Coburg Districts had managed to claw their way back within four points.
Districts worked extremely hard in the quarter and Jacana weren’t good enough to stop them from catching up, setting up an exciting final term.
Chris Johnson took a high-flying speccy early in the quarter, which exemplified the guts displayed involved in the final quarter.
It was Lion James Reid, however, who scored the first goal in the quarter via a 50-metre penalty.
This was the first time the Lions had taken the lead since the second quarter.
The ball went into Jacana’s forward a multitude of times but Daniel Campbell and Drew Cudmore were always there to mop it up on the rebound.
Scheriani put the Lions out to a comfortable lead after scoring a goal and was then rewarded an immediate free kick in the goal-square after being knocked down celebrating the goal.
From then on Districts were too strong in defence.
Mathew Siciliano gave Jacana hope late in the game but Coburg Districts managed to keep the Jaguars at bay, claiming a gutsy victory.
Coburg Districts | 13.10-88
Goal Kickers: L. Vesnaver 3, J. Reid 2, J. Scheriani 2, S. Saad, D. Campbell, M. O''Dea, T. Lucin, J. Fenner, T. Mendico
Best Players: N. Georgeades, D. Cudmore, T. Lucin, T. Mendico, S. Saad
Jacana | 12.8-80
Goal Kickers: R. Brown 5, J. Galizia 2, C. Johnson, M. Douthwaite, M. Siciliano, D. Arnold, J. Wilkinson
