Under 19 Round Recap

By Hugh Fitzpatrick


With the U19 season shaping up to be a beauty, round 9 saw some great upsets and a top of the table clash that put Dingley way clear of the pack. Unfortunately for Cheltenham their season took another turn for worse, following a narrow defeat at the hands of Oakleigh District at home. East Brighton returned to the winners list after a convincing four quarter performance against Endeavour Hills/ Keysborough and finds themselves in the top four.

 

East Brighton vs Endeavour Hills/ Keysborough

In what was a season defining match for East Brighton this week, the side performed brilliantly against weaker opposition as the Vampires eventually ran away victors by 50 points in front of a home crowd at Hurlingham Reserve.

Following what was a season low performance last week against Bentleigh, after a slow first quarter, East Brighton controlled proceedings throughout with Callum Morgan and Liam Reidy being the beneficiaries of such great work with the duo kicking five goals each in what were season high for the forwards.

Mitch Barry was exceptional for Endeavour Hills/ Keysborough with the young forward kicking four out of their five goals, in a game with very few highlights for Endeavour Hills/ Keysborough, Barry, in just his second game for the season, was a shining light.

Unfortunately it doesn’t get any easier for Endeavour Hills/ Keysborough as a match against ladder leaders looms with the side facing their biggest challenge for the year. Given the closeness of the season, East Brighton need to continue winning matches of football and will hope to do so against Cheltenham at home.

 

Cheltenham vs Oakleigh District

For the most part this clash was an even contest, however for Oakleigh it was their second quarter where they were able to showcase a season best performance piling on seven goals to one, going into half time with a match winning lead of 29 points.

Chris Casset was exceptional for Oakleigh all day; the young forward kicked six goals in what was a best on ground performance however was not alone with Francis Connolly continuing his hot form this season. Cheltenham will be kicking themselves for the way they played in that second quarter, in what was a crucial clash in front of a home crowd, their inability to stop the momentum from Oakleigh was ultimately what cost them the match.

Cooper Ryan performed valiantly for Cheltenham alongside Luke Young who kicked two goals himself and did all he could to will his side back into the match. Unfortunately the 2019 season has been one to forget for Cheltenham’s U19 side, sitting at the bottom of the ladder, Cheltenham will be looking to regroup for the second half of the season and show their fans the brand of football that they know they can play and will do so against East Brighton away from home on Saturday.

Oakleigh face third placed Bentleigh away this week, sitting outside the top four due to percentage, Oakleigh need to be taking a scalp this weekend to give them a big chance in locking down a top four position coming into the finals.

 

Dingley vs St Kilda City

 With suspense building, the clash between two undefeated sides in Dingley and St Kilda City had been hyped up around the leagues however it was Dingley who continued their dominance of the competition with an astounding 65 point victory over an uncharacteristic St Kilda City side who have performed so well throughout this year.

The match started as expected with both sides playing a contested brand of football and if it weren’t for inaccurate kicking, Dingley could’ve put St Kilda City to the sword by quarter time kicking 2.4 to one straight. Dingley gained control of the contest in the second quarter with Taj Lewis and Troy Brimble working in unison as they completely manhandled St Kilda’s midfield. Troy Brimble was awarded best on ground for his work offensively, kicking three goals and setting up many others, Troy’s progression as a player this year is a credit to his hard work.

After what was an arm wrestle in the first quarter, Dingley stretched their margin in every quarter with St Kilda City having no answer to this dominance, allowing Dingley to add salt to their wounds in the last quarter kicking six goals straight.

St Kilda City get a much needed bye this weekend as the side looks to regroup from what was a season low performance, as for Dingley they look to continue this hot streak against bottom placed Endeavour Hills/ Keysborough.

 

Bentleigh had a bye.

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