FOOTSCRAY has produced the upset of the Lacrosse Victoria men’s state league season so far with a 15-10 win over arch-rivals Williamstown at Angliss Reserve on Saturday.
The Scray not only had to contend with the ladder-leading Fearons at the top of their game, but went into battle with a severely undermanned team with several walk-up starters missing through injury.
Board member Greg Mollison said the against-the-odds victory was about his side wanting it more.
“Knocking off undefeated Williamstown is a good effort considering where we are at the moment.
“We’ve been struggling with a lot of injuries, a couple of knee blow-outs, a couple of broken bones. We’re just having a bad run, so to stand up and be counted against a really good opposition; it’s hard to top really.”
Noone gave the Scray a genuine hope of being the first club to bring down the Fearons,
but after trailing by two goals at the end of the first period, its stars began to lift and outscored the visitors 12-5 in the remaining three quarters.
Chris Plumb, in his second game back from a broken ankle, was inspirational for the Scray with three goals.
Four-goal star Luke Moore, James Lawerson and Luke Jacques also had a massive influence on the outcome.
Goalkeeper Callan Ahrens, a player Mollison says was unlucky not to be representing Australia at the under-19 world championships, put in a massive performance.
Daniel Stiglich, the son of former Victorian and Australian representative Peter, was never too far away from the physical battles.
“His old man was a real legend of the game,” Mollison said, “one of those true hard men of the sport. Daniel is straight out of the same mould. Anything that gets in his way is going to be stopped.”
It was a rare off day for the Fearons, but one player who stood tall was Daniel Jennings with a game-high five goals.
In other hockey news, Victoria claimed the under-18 women’s national championship title with an 8-2 win over South Australia in the final in Adelaide.
Men’s state league: Footscray 15 d Williamstown 10, Altona 3 lt Caulfield 26
