Jacana played its best game of the Essendon District Football League division 1 season, but it wasn’t enough for victory.
Having been easily beaten in their first three matches, the Jaguars were hoping for a change of fortunes against the similarly winless East Keilor.
The Cougars made the most of the wind in the first and third quarters to jump out to a big lead, before the Jaguars closed the gap both times.
But they weren’t able to bridge the margin in the end, losing 13.19 (97)-14.11 (95).
Jaguars coach Robert Fletcher said that while the result was disappointing, he was much happier with how they played.
He said before that game that the side had only been competitive in one of its 12 previous quarters.
“It was good to be in the contest for once,” he said. “We were in the game until the final minute. The wind was massive and it was a six to eight goal breeze. They got away early and we missed a couple of opportunities against the wind.
“We got back into the game in the second quarter and took it to them in the third quarter.
“We had a good third quarter, but it went for 40 minutes and the boys were spent.
“There was a lot of congested ball. They won the game and we weren’t good enough again.”
Jason Cloke kicked five goals for the Jaguars, with Josh Young, Billy Morrison and Shannon Bennett the side’s best.
The result leaves the Jaguars as one of two teams without a win after five rounds.
Fletcher said the biggest factor in the tough transition from division 2 to division 1 had been their lack of depth.
“We’ve had six or seven players out every week,” he said. “We’re slowly getting them back and starting to gel together.
“We lost 20 players from the seniors and reserves over the off-season and we have no under-19s. That makes its hard to replace players.”
The Jaguars this week will face Taylors Lakes.
Fletcher said they had taken hope and belief out of their performance against East Keilor.
In other matches, Taylors Lakes was too good for Westmeadows, Tullamarine defeated Hillside and Craigieburn fell short against Airport West.
In premier division, Greenvale lost its first match of the season, going down to Pascoe Vale 14.5 (89)-8.8 (56), while in division 2 Roxburgh Park defeated Burnside Heights.
