Photo credit: Steve Smith/Silvan Football Club Facebook group
By: Tash Gunawardana
SILVAN has won its past three matches and currently sits fifth on the Division 4 ladder, as it prepares for a vital clash with third-placed Coldstream.
Senior playing-coach Trent Martin spoke of his side’s form last weekend where the Cats held on to narrowly defeat Fairpark by eight points.
“It was definitely cold out there, which is a standard winter’s day down at Silvan and it all got a bit too close in the end,” Martin told EFL Sunday.
Martin admits that he and his team became complacent heading into the final quarter, leading by 42 points at three-quarter time.
“I changed a few personnel and pretty much thought we could put the cue in the rack and even as a coach thought that was the case, we could rest a few with Coldstream the following week,” he said.
“It was almost a massive blunder on my behalf and credit (to Fairpark) they saw a couple of openings and came back pretty strong and it was nearly a big scare that we certainly didn’t need, but we were glad to get the win in the end.”
Fairpark piled on eight goals to two in the final term and drew within a goal with five minutes to go.
“We were actually the ones who were coming home with the breeze,” Martin said.
“They just kept coming, they put some different personnel through the middle of the ground, that big (James) Gough, number 99, he started to control the stoppages for them.
“The young kid number 55 (Ronald McKendry) who plays for them up forward normally, he went through the middle and they were just dominant.
“The centre clearances just swung all their way and all in their path in the last quarter and we just were scrambling, and they penetrated their zone pretty well.
“They got within a few points at one point I think and then luckily enough one of our young kids stood up and kicked a couple in the last and we got away with it but it was definitely a scare.
Martin says the Cats’ draw has provided an opportunity to better manage his players.
“When we got the fixture, we thought we were really hard done by with the bye in Round 1 and we thought it would be a nightmare through the middle of the year.
“In the end the list was pretty banged up, so we were able to rest some blokes and (get a) three-week break into them.
“They came out (on Saturday) and looked fresh in the end.”
