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Congupna 4.4, 5.10, 7.10, 8.11 (59) d
Echuca United 0.1, 1.2, 2.3, 3.6 (24)
Congupna has shocked the Murray Football League with an upset victory in yesterday’s semi-final at Nathalia Recreation Reserve, sending Echuca United packing in straight sets.
Internally though, The Road had faith it could achieve yesterday’s feat, with the 35-point triumph sending the side into a preliminary final.
From the outset, The Road was on fire, having eight scoring shots to one at the first break and 15 to three at half-time, but poor conversion kept the Eagles in the contest.
After the main break, the match became a hammer-and-anvil showcase as the Eagles threw everything they had at The Road — but the boys in red and white did not budge.
‘‘Finals are never easy, but when you’re facing a team that everyone thinks is going to play in the grand final, we knew it was going to be a tough game,’’ Congupna co-coach David Gee said.
‘‘It was great to see the boys get the win and that belief is really there, it probably wasn’t until three or four weeks ago that they really started to believe they could do some damage.
‘‘It was a really, really physical game. Our kicking was pretty inaccurate early and we probably didn’t capitalise in the first half, but we just stuck to our game style and kept taking the game on and kept peppering the goals and we knew it would come together in the end.’’
BJ Squire was inspirational after battling a shoulder injury throughout the week, while the likes of Lachie Baldwin, Tate Mifka, Dion Gleeson and Jordan Gee also impressed.
‘‘We didn’t have a passenger and that’s what finals footy is all about.’’
The Road now faces Nathalia on the penultimate weekend of the season, with a spot in the grand final up for grabs.
‘‘It’s hard to believe. I said to the boys after the game, I’ve been involved at the club for 15 years and that is by far the best win I’ve had at Congupna footy club,’’ Gee said.
‘‘You could see the relief and the belief on their faces after the game. It’s there in the palm of our hands and we’ve just got to make sure we do everything right.
‘‘We’ve got to beat the best to play in the grand final.’’
For the Eagles, Liam Gundry, Kyle Armstrong and Lachie Carmody stood out, while attacking spearhead Josh Mellington finished with one major for the day.
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