Match Report
Round 4
30 April 2022
AJAX v De La Salle - Away
Playing De La Salle at De La Salle is one of the great experiences in the VAFA. A great club with great supporters. Meeting them when they’re 0-3 always was going to be a dangerous prospect and it proved to be. We had gained a huge amount of confidence from our win against Fitzroy. Refreshed from the Easter break and the Round 3 BYE we were ready for the task.
The first quarter began as expected, contested and hard footy played by two teams who were trying to get their running games going. Both sides were wary of their strengths. We had early control and a goal against the wind to Jake Lew gave the side reward for effort. Unfortunately, De La Salle were able to control the middle part of quarter and managed to gain a comfortable lead at the first break.
Erasing the deficit was the aim for the second quarter and we were able to do that quickly with a Brandon Joel goal. We were able to control a lot of the game however were unable to hit the score board to give ourselves reward for effort. Charles Hamilton and Jordan Cohen gained ascendency in the midfield and Eliot Debinski was working hard in the ruck. By the half time siren it was game on.
We steeled ourselves for a tough third quarter. Kicking against the wind we knew that if we kept the scoreboard close we’d have a big opportunity to win the game in the last quarter. What we witnessed was a magnificent brand of team football by a group of players that worked together and committed to a plan. We were able to balance our team attack and team defence play and most pleasing was the voice and leadership on the field which made this all happen. At the end of the third quarter we gave our chance to win the game. 12 points down.
The first 5 minutes of the last quarter ultimately decided the contest. We didn’t touch the ball, De La Salle kicked two goals. To our credit, we fought back with two goals to Toby Sheezel. The effort to get back in the game was all a bit much and we fell short. De La Salle were able to kick late goals to confirm the win. Brodie Mond kicked a goal on the siren to bring the margin back to 18 points.
Goals: Lew 3, Nissenbaum 3, Sheezel 2, Joel, Mond
Best: Lew, Hamilton, Nissenbaum, Sheezel, Cohen, Debinski
|
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
AJAX
|
1.1.7 |
4.5.29 |
6.7.43 |
10.9.69 |
De La Salle |
5.1.31 |
5.5.35 |
8.7.55 |
13.9.87 |