Despite a third straight loss, Sunbury Lions coach Rick Horwood sees plenty of positives out of the past few weeks in the Ballarat Football League.
The Lions have been in front in all three games, and in the past two, including against North Ballarat City on Saturday, they’ve had chances to win.
Horwood said it showed that when they played their best football, the Lions could match it with the top sides.
“You’ve got to keep putting yourself in those positions,” he said.
“We’re competing and getting in front and putting ourselves in a position to win the game.
“I’m looking forward to when we do finish off games.”
Horwood said he and his team had looked at why they weren’t able to finish strongly.
“I think it’s psychological,” he said. “We looked at fitness and we don’t think it’s that.
“We haven’t been in these positions against top sides in the last couple of years and now we are, we can’t beat them. We need to get past it.”
It was a case of deja vu for the Lions in Saturday’s 17.13 (115)-15.9 (99) loss to North Ballarat City; there were several similarities to the defeat to East Point the week before.
The Lions began well before Josh Burgess left the ground with concussion after a heavy collision in the second quarter. Burgess had already kicked three goals and was the key player in the Lions’ forward line.
“We lost our main avenue to goal and we didn’t adjust how we needed to,” Horwood said.
“We had the same thing happen last week with Joe Redfern suffering concussion in the second quarter. We rested him this week then we lost Adam Short before the game; they could have given us other options up forward.”
A lapse from the Lions allowed City to cut the margin to eight points at three-quarter time with a goal after the siren. City hit the lead early in the last before the Lions responded.
“We could have got back in front in the last quarter,” Horwood said. “I thought we were going to go on with it, but it wasn’t to be.”
It was the experienced players in the middle who starred for the Lions, with David Kovacevic, Alik Magin, Mathew Medcraft, Andrew Duhau and Greg Hay named among the best.
The Lions slipped to fifth on the ladder ahead of a clash with Ballarat this weekend.
“Given the great start to the season we’re still in the mix,” Horwood said. “We have a home game this week and no more trips to Ballarat. We have to win.”
