CHRISTMAS CHEER
North Geelong is the team to beat, sitting undefeated on top of the GCA1 ladder after taking down title contender East Belmont.
Mahon, Lachie Inglis (0) and Nathan Frye (3) in successive overs, immediately after resumption, swung the momentum the way of the home side, as East slipped to 5-126.
“They ticked it along pretty well and scored off every one of our bad balls,” Magpies coach Nathan Fitzpatrick said of the Lineker-McMahon union.
“But we felt that it’s pretty hard to chase runs and we were able to tighten the screws.
“We didn’t give them any loose balls after tea and that pressure kept building which led to clumps of wickets.”
James McMahon (10) battled to regain the ascendancy with Lineker, however when Lachie Hayes (1-18) caught McMahon from his own bowling, and Lineker’s classy 208minute knock was ended by Mathieson’s sharp chance at gully, the Lions had slumped to 7-148.
With the Magpies bowling tight lines and remaining vigilant in the field, the run rate continued to climb, and with the Lions’ aerial route bringing about their demise it was the Osborne Park host revelling in the festive cheer.
“It felt like a really tough finals game,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Regardless of the result I think we’ll learn a lot from the way we went about it and the way they went about it.
“We have some more massive challenges after Christmas, so it’s good to learn how to deal with those pressure situations.”