By MICHAEL HABER
MOONEE Valley hosted East Keilor on Saturday, in what would be the toughest test for both sides so far in the season.
Before going into the game, both teams had a perfect record but in the end Moonee Valley managed to pull off a dynamic victory, handing East Keilor its first loss of the season.
Moonee Valley started kicking with the wind in the first quarter.
The Cougars came out all guns blazing, and took the game on early.
They were attacking hard early but it was Moonee Valley who managed to score the first goal of the game.
The midfield was a war zone during the first quarter. Both teams’ midfield attacked the ball hard and both put on immense tackling pressure.
Moonee Valley were able to use the ball just a bit better than East Keilor in the term, however, coming out to a two-goal lead at halftime.
East Keilor started the scoring in the second term early with a great snap from a set shot by Riza Balla. From then on it was all East Keilor.
They dominated play across the field, using the wind in their favour.
Peter Tsavdaridis was applying great pressure in the forward 50, and was rewarded for one of his tackles with a free kick, resulting in a goal.
Moonee Valley was finding it difficult to cope with the attacking dominance of East Keilor but managed to get two goals in quick succession via a free kick and a 50-metre penalty.
East Keilor finished off the quarter with a goal right on the siren.
Moonee Valley did well to not let the Cougars run away with the game in the second term but couldn’t keep them contained like they did in the first.
Moonee Valley learnt from their mistakes in the second and put on a commanding performance in the third term.
They managed to slowly but surely chip away at the Cougars’ lead and take the lead late in the quarter.
Their defence worked hard, rebounding almost every East Keilor inside 50 and managing to keep their opponents goalless for the quarter.
Sebastian Monka kicked the Valley’s final goal in the quarter to put his side up by nine points.
The Cougars looked like a different side in that quarter and were looking at not only a 10-point deficit, but possibly their first loss of the season.
Riza Balla kicked the first goal of the term after running into an open goal square after a mark.
He was having a great game and got his team back within four points.
Tsavdaridis got East Keilor back even with his goal to put the game in the balance in the final term.
Then the dominance of Moonee Valley’s steamroller, Joshua Covelli, kicked in.
He kicked two goals in a row, one of those a set shot thanks to a one-handed mark, to put his team in a comfortable spot.
East Keilor didn’t let Moonee Valley get too far away however with Mark Castaldo scoring a goal to reduce the deficit to eight points with five minutes left.
East Keilor attacked hard in the last five minutes of the game but the Moonee Valley defence was too strong.
Sean Gales was solid in defence taking a couple of marks and helping rebound the ball out of the 50.
Despite providing some great attacks, the Cougars were unsuccessful in turning the game in their favour, losing their first match for the season by eight points.
MOONEE VALLEY | 11.9-75
Goal Kickers: J. Covelli 5, R. Potter, S. Monka, B. Padmore, C. Needs, T. Wilson, S. Taylor
Best Players: M. Bourke, S. Taylor, D. Brooks, Z. Bunge, N. Wilson, R. Gleisner
EAST KEILOR | 10.7-67
Goal Kickers: R. Balla 3, P. Tsavdaridis 2, V. Madaffari, M. Castaldo, C. Roach, B. Lucas, C. Bryant
Best Players: C. Roach, V. Madaffari, S. Curtis, R. Balla, P. Grampas, J. Carey
