RARELY is anything straightforward for Williamstown CYMS in the Victorian Amateur Football Association division 1 this season.
The CYs are the drama kings of the league, seemingly preferring a cliffhanger finish to a run-of-the-mill thumping.
CYs coach Mathew Montebello could hardly bear to watch on Saturday as his side held on by one point to beat Bulleen-Templestowe on the road at Ted Ajani Reserve.
The devil is in the detail for CYs, who saw a 43-point half-time lead disintegrate by late in the fourth term.
Spencer Davis spared CYs an embarrassing loss with a late running goal to secure the win.
“I can’t handle games like that,” Montebello told the Weekly.
“When we go into half-time 43 points up, especially with the way we played the previous week, we thought we’re on here, we’ve got it all together.
“To Bulleen’s credit, they were very desperate. Their desperation is what got them back into the game.”
There were only 90 seconds on the clock when Davis took back the lead for CYs.
Even after that, Bulleen-Templestowe had chances to win, twice scoring behinds.
“It could have easily gone the other way,” Montebello said.
“The players knew we were lucky and we got away with it.
“It was a relief because we knew how important it was. We’re now sitting two games clear in second.”
When it came to the crunch, CYs had Ben Gray and Bulleen-Templestowe did not.
Gray was superb with eight goals and a number of clutch marks to once again stamp himself as the big-game player of the division.
“The tougher it gets, the better he gets,” Montebello said.
“His leadership and ability to influence the game in tight situations is second to none in the league.”
Swingman Ryan Danaher played his best game for the club.
He starred with two goals as a forward before heading to defence to take some goal-saving marks late.
Nic Holdsworth continued his stellar form across half-back and on the ball, while full-back Jake MacKenzie was a scrooge on the last line.
The second-placed CYs face third-ranked Ormond in a blockbuster away on July 13.
