Sunbury Lions were left to rue missed opportunities as they suffered a first-round loss to Bacchus Marsh in the Ballarat Football League.
The Lions led at three-quarter time but were smashed in the midfield in the last quarter, allowing the Cobras to set up several attacking forays.
They didn’t waste those opportunities scoring five goals to one in the last quarter to win 13.12 (90)-10.11 (71).
Lions’ coach Rick Horwood was disappointed with the result but said there was many positives to take out of the game.
“We were in the contest for 90 to 95 per cent of the game,” Horwood said.
“In a nutshell, we didn’t take the most of our opportunities and were punished for our mistakes.
“Our decision-making let us down. It’s round one so I’m not overly concerned. It’s real basic stuff that we can fix.”
The Lions missed a shot on the siren in the third quarter that would’ve put them up by 10 points and then struggled to get the ball forward in the last quarter.
“They kicked five goals to one in the final quarter,” Horwood said.
“They had 17 inside-50s and we had just four – that’s not going to win you football.
“We got beaten in the midfield. They took away our space. They also kicked better at goal.”
Horwood said several players had performed well but the spread across the board wasn’t there and that had cost them dearly.
“Jesse and Ben McInneny were both good in their first games,” he said.
“Nathan Wood and Jesse Flannery did good shut-down jobs, while Alik Magin is all class.”
Jesse McInneny kicked three goals for the Lions, with Magin chipping in with two.
The Lions’ A-grade netballers started their season with a good win against the Cobras.
The Lions won 46-42, with Rachael Dovaston best on court.
Beck Anstey, in the unusual position for her of goal shooter, hit 29 goals for the Lions.
This week, the Lions face Melton at home under lights with the Bloods coming off wins in both the netball and football.
