Williamstown CYMS was not as ruthless on the scoreboard as it could have been in an 18-point win over bottom side PEGS in the Victorian Amateur Football Association Premier C at Burbank Oval on Saturday.
But with only one win from seven leading into the game, all that mattered was securing the four points to steer clear of the relegation zone.
The CYs controlled the game from the outset, but shoddy kicking for goal made it closer than it should have been, managing to turn only 14 of 32 scoring shots into goals.
CYs coach Mathew Montebello was a touch disappointed after the 14.18 (92) – 13.6 (84) win but knows a newly promoted side can’t pick and choose when it comes to wins in the bank.
“In a tough competition where we’ve lost three games by three goals or under, we’re just happy to get the win,” he told Star Weekly.
“Hopefully, it will start to create a bit of a buffer between us and the bottom two.
“It’s a tight competition and it can be very unpredictable, so you’ve got to take the wins when you get them and try to steal a couple [against top sides], which we haven’t been able to do yet.
“We hadn’t had a win since round two, so it was a real positive to go into the break with a win and the boys felt good about it.”
Goalkicking aside, the manner of the CYs’ win is what most pleased Montebello.
He set out clear guidelines about how he wanted his side to build their game and the players stuck to the plan.
“Before the game, we actually went through and identified players’ roles, who are our X-factors, who are our link-up players, who are our key-position players and what is your role today … play your role and it will pan out,” Montebello said.
“It was a message the boys took really well into the game and that’s what they did, played their role, played to their strengths and also understood that just because they might be a link-up player, when it’s their time to go, it’s their time to go.
“We wanted to make sure we got our hands on the footy a lot more and that our overlap run and link-up was a lot better.”
Nick Ebinger caught the eye with a scintillating seven-goal haul to collect best-on- ground honours.
The medium-sized teenage forward has bagged 32 goals in eight games to become one of the rising stars of the competition.
“He’s got a lot of raw natural talent,” Montebello said.
“He only turned 18 in December, so for him to do as well as he’s doing is fantastic.
“He has really strong hands, he hits packs hard and doesn’t take a backward step.
“When he leads out, he’s really good below his knees, so he’s generally able to pick the ball up and look for that feed off or a centring kick. He has a big future in footy if he can continue to develop.”
Russell Ackerly and Tom Johnstone got the CYs’ machine humming with superb performances in the guts.
Jack Gray was at his best at half forward after a slow start to the season, while Phil Johnson offered plenty of dash in the half back line.
The CYs are a game clear of the relegation zone heading into the Queen’s birthday break.
