Relief ... Harry O'Brien celebrates a match-turning goal just before half time Source: JOE CASTRO / AAP
Three last-quarter goals from Travis Cloke have helped Collingwood down a tenacious St Kilda in a tight AFL clash at Etihad Stadium.
The Saints lost Lenny Hayes (calf) in the pre-game warm-up and Sam Gilbert to a suspected serious knee injury in the third term but fought hard before losing Friday night's clash 15.13 (103) to 11.11 (77).
| 3.4 (22) | Q1 | 3.2 (20) |
| 5.7 (37) | Q2 | 5.5 (35) |
| 10.10 (70) | Q3 | 8.9 (57) |
| 15.13 (103) | Q4 | 11.11 (77) |
| Travis Cloke 4 | Nick Riewoldt 4 |
| Darren Jolly 2 | Arryn Siposs 2 |
| Scott Pendlebury 2 | David Armitage 1 |
| Paul Seedsman 2 | Sam Gilbert 1 |
| Jarryd Blair 1 | Justin Koschitzke 1 |
| Martin Clarke 1 | Stephen Milne 1 |
| Sam Dwyer 1 | Dylan Roberton 1 |
| Andrew Krakouer 1 | |
| Harry O'Brien 1 |
Saints coach Scott Watters said it was hoped Gilbert's injury was no more than a hyperextended knee but he didn't want to speculate.
"We don't think so at this stage, but we've had some examples even in recent weeks where people are saying it's not an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and all of a sudden it is. You've just got to wait for the scan,'' Watters said.
He said Hayes' injury was minor and the midfielder was unlikely to miss more than one more game.
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said after a week spent focusing on the defensive elements of their game, the Magpies had failed to move the ball swiftly enough in the first half.
"It's a very natural reaction to take the focus off other areas of the game that you need to do well,'' he said.
"We probably just got too careful with our ball use in the second quarter but we opened that up a bit and got the balance right in the second half."
The win lifted Collingwood to a 4-2 record, while the Saints are stuck at 1-5 despite pushing quality opponents in Sydney and now the Magpies hard in their past two games.
| P | W | D | L | % | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Essendon | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 176.70 | 20 |
| 2 | Port Adelaide | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 148.45 | 20 |
| 3 | Geelong | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 114.20 | 20 |
| 4 | Hawthorn | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 131.57 | 16 |
| 5 | Sydney | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 124.53 | 16 |
| 6 | Collingwood | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 98.69 | 16 |
| 7 | Richmond | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 112.13 | 12 |
| 8 | Fremantle | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 102.57 | 12 |
| 9 | Carlton | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 103.67 | 8 |
| 10 | Adelaide | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 98.90 | 8 |
| 11 | Gold Coast | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 95.13 | 8 |
| 12 | Brisbane | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 77.53 | 8 |
| 13 | North Melbourne | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 100.20 | 4 |
| 14 | West Coast | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 97.46 | 4 |
| 15 | St Kilda | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 93.47 | 4 |
| 16 | Bulldogs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 79.47 | 4 |
| 17 | Melbourne | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 57.16 | 4 |
| 18 | Greater Western Sydney | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 63.84 | 0 |
The Magpies were warm favourites, even more so after St Kilda lost midfield stalwart Hayes.
But St Kilda showed great defensive intensity across the ground to stifle Collingwood's run and keep the game an arm wrestle in the first half.
After the two sides kicked three goals each in the first term, the Saints kicked the only two goals in the first 18 minutes of the second quarter to at one stage lead by 11 points.
Late goals to Darren Jolly and Harry O'Brien gave Collingwood a two-point halftime lead.
The Magpies' midfield class showed out in the third quarter, as stars Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan and Dale Thomas had 27 disposals between them for the term and their side finally found some run and broke the Saints' defensive shackles.
Pendlebury was enormously influential, breaking free of opponent Clinton Jones to kick the first goal of the quarter and set up the next for Andrew Krakouer.
It helped the Magpies to a five-goal quarter.
Collingwood looked to have broken the game wide open when they opened the last quarter with two quick goals - the second from a brilliant Cloke snap - and opened a 26-point lead.
But Saints skipper Nick Riewoldt kicked two goals in two minutes to quickly narrow the gap to 14 points.
Riewoldt (four goals) took his 10th mark of the night six minutes later and could have cut the margin to eight, but missed his set shot.
Soon after, Cloke kicked his third of the night, from a free kick, and another early in time-on to give the Magpies a 25-point lead and seal victory.
Midfielders Leigh Montagna, Jack Steven and David Armitage all battled hard for the Saints.
But as well as their injury problems, they could lose Justin Koschitzke to suspension, over an incident late in the first half.
Click here to view all of the stats and scores in the FOX FOOTY Match Centre.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Magpies do just enough
Dengan url
http://sportfoxer.blogspot.com/2013/05/magpies-do-just-enough.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Magpies do just enough
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar