Dingos Get the Win in Jaker’s 100th Game!

Another milestone, another win for the Red and Black.

As longtime Dingo ‘Honest’ Jake Steinberg celebrated his 100th Game Played, the team managed to recover from yet another mid-game misstep and held on for a close 2-goal victory over the Lakeshore Rebels to improve to 2-1 on the 2010 OAFL Season. Despite the oppressive heat and somewhat frustrating… circumstances, a gutsy performance by the backline combined with an inspiring display of footy by one Yoni Moussadji sealed the game for the Dingos in the fourth quarter, giving the club something to celebrate while drinking Jake’s FREE beer!

The first quarter opened with the Rebels kicking on the favorable side of the wind and putting the pressure on the Dingos backline right from the start. Yet, as will most like become a theme in this 2010 season, Andy Elleway and Craig Stewart on the half-back line both showed great footy IQ while practically repelling the Rebels attack all on their own, always in the right spot and the right time to intercept an errant-Rebels kick.

The Dingo frontline got into the action giving both half-backmen some strong leading options, and before long the Dingos had cracked the scoreboard off a set-shot from Chris Buczkowski and a great goal-on-the-run from James Duggan in the forward pocket. The battle between Butch at full forward and Rebels longtime fullback, Sean Duffy, was a great one to watch as neither really seemed to best the other throughout the match, which lead to a whole bunch of crumbs and some hectic play in front of the Rebel goals. The quarter ended with the Dingos up 2 goals to 1.

The second quarter was by far the best for the Red and Black. Kicking with the wind, the Dingos piled on 3 more goals – another by Jimmy, one by Mick McFarlane, and a great grab-off-the-ground-and-quickly-kick by Bob Clarke, who was playing like a man half his age – and kept the action in the Rebels defensive end the majority of the quarter. The club was also winning the ball out of middle thanks to some gutsy play by both Mick and first-time Dingo, Will Pattison, who time and again moved the ball forward right off the first tap and battled for the footy in every pack.

A big part of the Dingos efforts was shutting down some of the Rebels key ball movers, including that stalwart gentleman-Rebel Michael Fabbri, who was tagged the majority of the game by Dingo defensive specialist Steve Lanning to great effect. The Dingos side were also bolstered by one Dave Wells who’d arrived late at quarter-time, after speeding his way through an exam that morning and booking it across town. Now that’s dedication! The half ended with the Dingos in control with a 5-2 advantage in goals, and looking to add on more.

Sadly, the wheels came slightly unhinged in the third quarter – while the Red and Black continued their solid play through the first 10 minutes, a few miss opportunities and a bit of frustration – combined with some solid play from of the Rebels – lead to two quick goals in the closing 10 minutes of the quarter and forced the Dingos to come out and win it in the fourth.

Once again, in the most critical moments of the quarter, Andy continued his solid play and by cutting off almost every Rebel push through the mid-field in the first 10 minutes of the fourth. Showcasing an impressive display of good hands and a quick trigger with pinpoint accuracy on his kicks, Andy moved the ball forward to a wide open Rebel backline, as the Lakeshore squad flooded forward in an effort to get a goal, and found Yoni all on his own on more than one occasion, eventually leading to the game-clinching 6th goal by the longtime Dingo star.

It should also be noted that, in the dying moments of the game, Stewy passed up an opportunity to torpy his 249th goal as a Dingo and instead gave Jimmy a much easier shot for goal from within the 50 metre arc, which Jimmy repaid by promptly missing the set shot. That’s the way, Jimmy!

FINAL SCORE:
DINGOS – 6.7.45
REBELS – 4.5.29

DINGO GOALS: Jimmy 2, Mick, Butch, Yoni, Bobby
FIRST TIME DINGOS: Will Pattison

All stats for the match can be found here. The two clubs’ combined Div 2 squad were scheduled to take on the Div 2 Roos, but due to a lack of Roo-numbers, a Div 2 friendly was played between the Rebs and Dingos following the Div 1 match, with the Red and Black again prevailing. The main clubs next matchup is a favourite for the Red and Black, as it comes against the Ottawa Swans in Ottawa – so, in other words, a mid-season FOOTY TRIP!

– Spider