By MICHAEL HABER
MOONEE Valley came into last Saturday’s game a little shaky but still undefeated, and were looking to continue this record against the in-form Roxburgh Park.
The wind was with the Valley in the first term and after a tough slog for the first half of the quarter, the first goal of the game came through Jordan Faba.
The Moonee Valley midfield began dominating and setting up their forwards who slotted some great set shots.
Roxburgh Park fumbled and turned the ball over multiple times in the quarter, making it hard for them to get the ball into their forward half. The Valley managed to kick away to a 30-point quarter time lead.
It was as if the teams swapped jumpers at quarter time as Roxburgh Park came out swinging in the second term.
Timothy Blacker led from the front, scoring the first goal of the term and the next goal put the Magpies in the lead.
Roxburgh Park were all over Moonee Valley in the quarter and demonstrated just how strong their forwards are.
Moonee Valley had no response to this dominance and whenever the ball found its way in their forward line, the Magpies’ defence was quick to clean it up.
After such a strong first quarter, Moonee Valley were held completely scoreless as Roxburgh Park stole the lead.
Roxburgh Park created a 40-point turnaround in that quarter which gave them a 10-point lead going into halftime.
Braden Padmore scored his side’s first goal in over a quarter of footy to bring back the deficit to four points.
The intensity of the game lifted during the quarter with both teams putting their bodies on the line.
The tackling pressure rose and the midfield battle was at its fiercest.
Ryan Kannegiesser scored the first goal of the day at the Ken Mitchell Pavilion end to keep his side in front but Moonee Valley weren’t ready to lose yet.
Two goals from Joshua Covelli, including one on the siren, put the Valley up by three points going into the final term.
The start of the of the final term saw the lead change three times as Blacker and Covelli continued their goalkicking spree.
A free kick goal for Reece Tarczon, however, began the Magpies’ assault on the Valley’s defence.
A great play was ended with a goal for best-on-ground, Brent Freeman, which put the game beyond doubt.
Roxburgh Park finished off the game with a late flurry of goals which saw them run out with a 34-point victory.
The win moved the Magpies up to second on the ladder and provided Moonee Valley with their first loss of the season.
MOONEE VALLEY | 9.5-59
Goal Kickers: J. Covelli 3, R. Potter, D. O''Connell, J. Faba, B. Padmore, S. Monka, T. Edwards
Best Players: M. Bourke, N. Wilson, S. Cox, S. Aberdein, A. Ciancio, J. Moussa
ROXBURGH PARK | 14.9-93
Goal Kickers: T. Blacker 4, B. Freeman 2, R. Tarczon 2, T. Hamza 2, R. Kannegiesser 2, B. Dimech, J. Grant
Best Players: B. Freeman, R. Kannegiesser, T. Hamza, A. MacKinnon, T. Blacker, B. Dimech
