Altona Roosters are on the board in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association Isaacs Howarth Shield.
It’s been a tough season for the Roosters, who are the only side out of finals contention, but there were plenty of smiles on Saturday.
The Roosters were able to hold their composure to come away with the win against Maribyrnong Park St Marys.
“It got the monkey off the back,” Roosters Nathan Moon said.
“There’s a lot of relief and a lot of hard work. We’ve been in winnable positions and not been able to take our chances.
“This was the most consistent performance across two full days of play.”
The Roosters batted on day one and were bowled out for 242 late in the day.
The Lions lost 2-9 at the end of the day to put the Roosters well and truly on top.
Moon said they had been happy with that total and knew it would be challenging for the Lions to chase down.
Despite that, it wasn’t without its moments during the Lions run chase
“The boys were quite nervous,” he said. “We’ve had sides in positions where they’ve lost five or six for not many on the board.
“Captain Ash Peters was able to take crucial wickets to settle us.”
The Lions were bowled out for 219 with 20 overs still remaining.
Dishnaka Manoj took 4-42 for the Roosters, while Peters finished with three wickets.
Despite the win, the Roosters remain bottom of the table but it has reduced the margin between them and other sides to 12 points.
Moon said they were hopeful this was the start of a strong second half of the season and if they play like they did against the Lions they were hopeful of positive results.
“Things didn’t go our way with recruiting, but the boys have stuck fat,” he said.
“We know finals are out of the way now, but we will be trying our best to make sure we stay in division 1 for next season.
“Staying in division 1 is important and we want to play at the highest level possible.
“We want to finish the year strong and push for two or three more wins and hopefully that will be enough to secure safety.
“We’re under no illusion it might be tight and we’re in a position that it’s out of our hands.”
In other results, Seddon got a big win against Footscray United, while Druids slipped up against Sunshine United.
The Druids and Footscray United remain in the top four despite their losses.
