Thomastown continued its undefeated start to the A Plus Labour Solutions Division 2 season with a 13.20 (98) to 9.12 (66) win over Watsonia.
Kicking against the breeze in the opening quarter, the Bears took time to settle, before eventually overpowering the Saints at Main Street Reserve.
Shannon Ball was a star for the victors, kicking two goals within a minute in the second quarter to give the Bears the lead for the first time in the match.
Nick Horman again showed he is lethal around the goals, booting two majors, while former Northcote Park player Daniel Chadwick was impressive, kicking two goals.
With both teams winning their Round 1 clashes, there was an expectation for a close match. Unfortunately the match never truly broke open and the game turned out to be a dour affair.
Watsonia came out of the blocks on fire, creating numerous opportunities at goal by putting pressure on the Thomastown defence.
Thomastown had no avenue out of defence in the opening term and turnovers saw Allan Young kick the first two goals of the game for the Saints.
Adrian Alfonsi added another for the visitors, before Thomastown hit the scoreboard through Michael Di Battista.
Thomastown could have added more goals in the opening term if it were not for the unselfishness of its players.
At times the Bears looked reluctant to take shots at goal and an extra handball or kick led to a turnover and allowed the Saints to clear the danger.
Thomastown trailed by 11 points at quarter time, but kicking with the breeze in the second quarter, the Bears were on the improve.
Watsonia started well by kicking the first two goals in the term before the Bears converted five straight goals.
Ball, Chadwick and Horman were the main contributors to the turnaround, kicking the five goals between them to give the Bears a 12-point lead at half time.
Kicking with the wind to start the second half, Watsonia was expected to cut into the Bears’ lead.
But contrary to the first half, the Thomastown defence was resilient and limited the Saints’ scoring opportunities.
The Bears had chances to increase their lead but inaccuracy in front of goal kept the Saints in the game.
A main culprit for this inaccuracy in front of goal was the usually reliable Jacob Osei-Duro. Osei-Duro was a threat up forward but missed all three of his set shots in the third term.
Fortunately for the Bears, Watsonia was not able to take advantage of the wind and only cut the margin to 11 points heading into the final term.
Any thought of an epic final quarter was extinguished early as the Bears kicked two quick goals via James Rizzolio and Horman.
The remainder of the final term was played out in the centre of the ground, with stoppages creating a tight affair.
Thomastown will look to make it three straight wins to start the season when it hosts Diamond Creek in Round 3, while Watsonia will come up against the in-form Fitzroy Stars at A.K Lines Reserve.
Final score: Thomastown 13.20 (98) def Watsonia 9.12 (66)
Photo by Scott Muir
