NO team ever truly enjoys an honourable loss, but Dederang-Mount Beauty’s senior footy side has almost pulled off the upset of the season in their seven-point defeat to Tallangatta at Dederang on Saturday.
In a game where goals were at a premium thanks to driving rain across the region, the Bombers caught the eighth-placed Hoppers off-guard, yet ultimately couldn’t prevail in the 4.8 (32) to 5.9 (39) loss.
The game went to script early on with a four goal to two opening giving Tallangatta a 16-point lead at quarter-time, but remarkably, a total of only three goals were scored for the remainder of the match.
An inaccurate DMB kicked 1.5 in the second to trail by five at the main break, before the Bombers took an unlikely one-point lead into the three-quarter-time huddle, which had the home team’s players and supporters daring to dream with a quarter to go.
Tallangatta’s solitary goal was enough to avoid a massive boilover and hold on for the win that keeps their finals chances alive.
Jedd Bynon, William Webb and Phil Bellingham were the Bombers’ best on a bitter-sweet day.
It was a case of so close yet so far for the Bombers, who are still searching for their first win of the season, although will take renewed confidence into their final six matches of the season, starting with a trip to Barnawartha this Saturday.
Despite a difficult season to date, Dederang-Mount Beauty have recently announced that co-coaches Tom McGhee and Jaydn Chalmers will remain at the helm for at least another 12 months, which gives further stability to a young playing group heading in the right direction.
A similar feeling was shared for Dederang-Mount Beauty’s A grade netballers, who suffered a 27-33 home defeat to Tallangatta in the first of their return games.
After falling to the Hoppers in the first round of the year, the Bombers couldn’t reverse the result this time around in a narrow six-goal loss, despite leading at half-time and only trailing by one goal with 15 minutes of netball to play.
This week’s match-up against Barnawartha is now a must-win game for Alex Dyde’s side if they wish to remain in the competition’s top-five at the completion of an important round of netball.
