SPOTSWOOD coach Chris O’Keefe lauded the ‘‘heart and soul’’ performance of his players in Saturday’s loss to Altona Vikings in the Western Region Football League second semi-final.
The Woodsmen were three men down at one stage in the second half after onballer O’Keefe (hamstring), full-forward Jason Cloke (hip) and half-forward flanker Luke Ryan (ankle) made trips to the medical room. Instead of letting it affect their performance, the Woodsmen got back down to business and made a real game of it before narrowly losing to the minor premiers.
‘‘I thought that we showed great character, especially in the second half of the game,’’ O’Keefe said.
‘‘It was a couple of kicks in it for the day and it shows we’re pretty evenly matched.’’
Lionhearted onballer Tom Langlands produced yet another team-lifting performance to show why the decision to give the home-grown talent the captaincy was the right one.
The midfield of Elliot Wood, Jai Audley, Chase Morgan, Torin Baker and Matthew Fogarty worked into the game and never stopped trying.
Small forwards Christian Elliott, who booted five goals, commanded the ball in the air and mopped up at ground level, and the ever-present Ben Pope posed the biggest threat to the Vikings defence.
The Woodsmen, who will meet Hoppers Crossing in the preliminary final, will have to travel the same long route as last season via the preliminary final to make it five flags in six years.
O’Keefe is not daunted by the prospect. ‘‘I personally like for the boys to keep playing each week,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s good for your momentum and it would’ve been great to secure our spot in the grand final today.
‘‘It wasn’t meant to be. We’ll work through everything and hopefully we can get another win in the prelim final and set ourselves for another crack at it.’’
