Yarraville-Footscray experienced a whole range of emotions after a thrilling draw with Clayton on the road in Bowls Victoria’s premier division on Saturday.
There were times during the match when the Bulldogs looked like causing a shock and other times when they looked down and out.
But when the dust settled, both sides had 9 (80) and they had to be content to split the points.
“It was sort of a numb feeling,” Bulldogs skip Wayne Roberts told Star Weekly. “We fought hard, we were down and out at a couple of stages but we dug deep and got back in.”
For Yarraville-Footscray, newly promoted after success in division 1 last summer, it was a feather in the cap to extract nine points from one of the toughest away trips in the competition.
Jamie Pearce brought down Aaron Wilson, one of the top bowlers in the state, while Roberts had a resounding 11-shot win over Liam Garlick-Adams.
Just as important was the last end played by Nathan Murray, who picked up four shots to level the overall score.
The result has the Bulldogs knocking on the door of the top four ahead of a tough home game against Bundoora RSL on Saturday.
“They’re a top-four side with a lot of good players but they’ve got to play on our green,” Roberts said. “If we’re at our best, they’ll have to bowl well to beat us.”
Reigning champions Altona went down for the second time in two rounds, losing 14 (82) – 4 (70) against Essendon.
The A’s have fallen to third and face a tough Clayton side at home on Saturday.
