By Josh Ward.
Beaconsfield have secured a spot in the Division One Preliminary Final, defeating South Belgrave in their do or die semi-final this past Sunday at Tormore Reserve.
Kicking with a handy breeze towards the Boronia Road end of the ground in the last, the Eagles utilised it and were able to turn a 12 point three quarter time deficit into a 7.13 (55) to 7.10 (52) victory over the Saints.
The win marks a second ever finals victory for Beaconsfield’s senior side as well as a date with minor premiers Park Orchards in the Division 1 Preliminary Final next Saturday.
Meanwhile South Belgrave’s first season under Heath Black comes to an end, bowing out in straight sets and making it three consecutive finals losses in the division.
Mick Fogarty’s men were led from the front by co-captains Damien Johnston and Jake Bowd who’s experience and leadership in defence and midfield was on show for the entire day.
Beaconsfield 2023 Under 19 premiership captain Connor Mouat and Kade De La Rue provided strong support for Bowd and Johnston throughout the day. Jafar Ocaa and Brandon White also had an impact, with the former kicking three goals straight.
For South Belgrave, 2022 premiership stars Mitch Garner and Tim Smith fought hard all day alongside Phil Costa in midfield and up forward.
Smith finished up with two goals while Garner was once again well supported by Liam Kidd and ex-Berwick Springs star Blake Simondson.
After Kidd won the toss and elected to kick with the breeze, the Saints were unable to take advantage of it and conceded the first goal of the game to Ocaa inside the first two minutes.
It wasn’t until the 16 minute mark that they were able to kick their first goal through Christopher Dergacz. Despite that goal they still headed into quarter time trailing by two points.
They were able to hold up well in defence and midfield in the early stages of the second against the breeze, conceding only one goal while kicking a goal themselves.
Even after letting in two goals and having less territory for the final 20 minutes of the term, they kicked two goals themselves and went into the main break trailing by one straight kick.
With wind in tow, South Belgrave looked to press home their advantage in the third quarter. They were unable to do so though, with Beaconsfield’s defence forcing stoppage after stoppage.
But they still managed to kick two goals to head into the final term up by two goals, with one of their goals coming right on the three quarter time siren.
That two goal buffer was quickly erased by Beaconsfield who kicked the first three goals of the last inside the first eight minutes to hit the lead again.
South Belgrave were able to wrestle back some momentum though, kicking a goal to set up a grandstand final 15 minutes.
The Eagles were able to hold their nerve in that period though despite missing chances, holding on to claim another historic finals win in the EFNL.
