45-points down to 4-point winners | Round 21 Match Report
By Zoe Greenhill, Borough Media on August 15, 2022
Port Melbourne have claimed victory over Frankston in the thriller of the season. Coming from 45-points down, The Borough persevered and took the 4-point win on Saturday afternoon, home at ETU stadium.
Harvey Hooper had a match high 34 disposals, while Corey Wagner rose to the game with 28 disposals and 7 tackles. 3 multiple goal scorers in Jake Gasper (3), Cody Szust (3) and Anthony Anastasio (2) assisted in the stellar win over the Dolphins.
Frankston brought out some of their finest footy in the first quarter, making it a difficult task for the Borough to score. The Dolphins had high possession of the ball, and it wasn’t until the 18th minute that Nash Holmes was able to put the first score on the board for the Borough. Going into quarter time, Port Melbourne were 34-points down, looking to reclaim possession in the second quarter.
An early goal in the second from Anthony Anastasio brought back some confidence for the Borough to increase their score, however, the next 5 scores went through for behinds, while the Dolphins continued scoring majors and consequently extended their lead to 45-points. This set up for a miracle to come from Port Melbourne in the second half, after only scoring 16-points in the first half of the afternoon.
The third quarter saw Port Melbourne run out of the rooms with all guns blazing. 7 scores in a row in the third were rewarded through high possession and dominance around the ball, leaving the margin to fall to 23-points. Ethan Phillips scored a well-deserved backman’s goal to put the game within 20-points going into the final break.
A nail-biting final quarter emerged with the win in the hands of both Frankston and Port Melbourne. Goals were one a piece for the first portion of the quarter, and with time ticking away, the Borough had to push hard for the win. A goal from Jake Gasper before 3 goals in a row from Cody Szust saw the margin decrease from 18-points to 0 in 10 minutes, lighting a fire in the Borough boys that would ultimately see them victorious. With 10 minutes still remaining Port Melbourne had to remain collected and hold possession. A late goal from Matthew Signorello sealed the game, leaving Port Melbourne 4-point winners.
Next week sees the final game of the home and away season of 2022 with Port Melbourne traveling to Geelong to face the cats on Sunday afternoon at 1:05pm, at GMHBA Stadium.
Port Melbourne 12.9 81 defeated Frankston 11.11 77
