A half-time bake from coach Mathew Montebello was the catalyst for Williamstown CYMS’s 37-point win against MHSOB in the Victorian Amateur Football Association’s division 1 on Saturday.
The 10.13 (73) to 5.6 (36) scoreline indicates a convincing win to the CYs, but Montebello said such an outcome seemed unlikely at half- time.
“The win is the good part, but I thought Melbourne took it up to us in the first half … we were down at half-time,” he said.
“We were really passive and lazy. The second quarter was atrocious … we had a six-goal breeze and didn’t use it.”
He said the side responded after half-time by playing the sort of football expected of it.
“The boys knew they weren’t playing well in the first half,” Montebello said. “I couldn’t fault the fourth quarter, and the third quarter got us back into the game. We won contested ball and locked in our positions, instead of zoning off – the results showed.”
Montebello said that even with its youthfulness, CYs couldn’t afford to be putting in performances such as the one against MHSOB.
“Half the team is under 23 and you do get little blips like this with a young team,” he said. “You can’t be Jekyll and Hyde with your performances, though.”
Nathan Blackney, who kicked three goals, was best on ground.
CYs are one of two undefeated teams in division 1, the other being their opponent this week, Therry Penola.
“Last season we started poorly, so it’s good to be 3-0 after three weeks,” Montebello said.
“Therry is a good side and they have a very big ground so it will test us … it’s very different from our home ground.”
