‘Basic errors’ to blame
BARWON Heads co-coach Mitch Herbison blamed “basic skill errors” for his side’s agonising two-point loss to Geelong Amateur.
The Seagulls led by four points with 10 seconds left on the clock when Ammos’ spearhead Mitch Day marked and converted, inflicting the home side’s first loss of the season.
“It was a close one, it was back and forth all day, but unfortunately they kicked the last goal of the game, which sealed it,” Herbison lamented.
“We knew that there wasn’t long left. It felt like the quarter had gone for a long time.
“It wasn’t great to see the way it left the boot, it looked pretty good from the get-go, so that was pretty disappointing for us.”
Up by 11 points at halftime, the Seagulls faded slightly in the third term and trailed by three at the final change.
The teams traded goals in a tense final quarter, but it was Ammos who got their noses ahead when it mattered.
“For four quarters we didn’t play well enough, particularly by the standards we set,” Herbison said.
“We weren’t happy for most of the day with the way we were playing, even though we were in the game. I thought we probably made too many basic mistakes and we didn’t move the ball as well as we could have.”
“We made some skill errors, but that’s partly due to the pressure that Ammos put on us. They played really well for four quarters. They just stuck at it, they’re a young team and they rode a bit of momentum late in the day and the last kick sealed it for them in the end.”
At 2-1, Herbison has urged his team to “move on” and focus on the Round 4 clash with Queenscliff.
“It obviously hurts to lose in that fashion, but there’s plenty of upside to our start to the year,” Herbison said. “We’ve just got to make sure we get better and better each week. There’s a lot of improvement in us, I think, so the focus for us is to work hard in the next two training sessions and get ourselves right for Queenscliff.”
Herbison is, however, convinced Ammos can contend.
“I think they will be a threat,” Herbison said.
“Their top five is as good as any top five in the comp and they’ve got a good balance of younger guys who showed speed and great tackle pressure. They’re going to be a really dangerous team.”