Tom Boyd kicked a goal with less than a minute to play to lead Footscray to one of their best wins of the season, a three-point thriller over Port Melbourne at Victoria University Whitten Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Boyd finished the game with five majors but it was number five that brought home crowd to its feet, sealing the Dog’s third win on the trot and keeping their top two hopes alive.
Coach Ashley Hansen said that the way his young side resisted and ultimately prevailed over a dogged Port Melbourne outfit was character building.
“To win like that, with 90 seconds to go, three men down on the bench, all those ingredients… it really adds to our team’s resilience, our mental toughness and our self belief”
“It was a great environment for our players to be in today and they’re going to learn a lot from it.”
Port Melbourne kicked three goals in as many minutes at the end of the second to snatch back momentum and the lead going into the main break. The Borough continued their good form into the second half, kicking three of the first four, stretching the lead out to 17 midway through the third term.
A Will Minson mark and goal halted the Port Melbourne charge; followed by two more from Mitch Honeychurch and Brett Goodes and suddenly, the deficit was just four points at the final change.
The stage had been set for an epic fourth quarter and with five lead changes and a final margin of three points, that’s exactly what the 1200 strong Whitten Oval crowd got.
Nathan Hrovat and Brett Goodes both stepped up when it mattered but it was Tom Boyd’s three final quarter goals that were the difference.
A visibly relieved Hansen said that it was the ideal hit out as finals approach for both AFL and VFL listed players.
“What the boys would have gotten out of this will hold them in really good stead whether they’re at VFL or AFL level in the next couple of weeks,” he said.
“At this time of the year they’re going to be faced with difference challenges, whether it’s personal or collectively, and they have to know how to deal with that.”
Mitch Honeychurch kept the statisticians busy, collecting 22 touches, 4 marks, 4 tackles, 4 inside 50s and 2 goals to be named best on ground.
Footscray travel to Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo to take on the Bombers this Friday night
Footscray 2.3 5.5 8.9 12.12 (84)
Port Melbourne 2.1 6.4 9.7 12.9 (81)
BEST: M. Honeychurch, N Hrovat, B. Prismall, T. Boyd, B. Goodes, M. Fuller
GOALS: T. Boyd 5, M Honeychurch 2, Hrovat, Minson, Dale, Goodes, Prismall
DISPOSALS: Russell 23, Goodes, Honeychurch 22, Dale, Hrovat, Prismall 17, Kelly 16
