The Western Bulldogs have emerged victorious over the Sandringham Zebras, with Steph Asciak slotting the match-winner with 35 seconds left on the clock at Mission Whitten Oval on Saturday.
Sitting at 6th and 7th on the ladder respectively heading into the clash, the Bulldogs and Zebras each ran out hoping to consolidate their places inside the top six.
But it was the Bulldogs who were successful, stealing the lead late in a 5.5 (35) to 5.2 (32) victory at home.
Despite the wet weather conditions in the first quarter, both teams started off neck-and-neck with opening goals. Analea McKee's mark inside 50 put the first score on the board for the hosts, but it wasn’t long before the Zebras responded.
50-gamer India Barker brought the lead back to six points in a hard-fought and evenly-matched opening term, which saw scores level at the first break.
The Bulldogs struggled to capitalise on their second-quarter dominance, finding themselves with more inside 50s but trailing at the main break.
The third term was another arm wrestle, and while the Zebras proved to be more accurate in front of the goals, the Dogs responded quickly on the eve of three-quarter time.
Still anyone’s game heading into the final term, Sandringham broke through the struggle to put a goal on the board early.
The Bulldogs started to wrestle momentum back though, culminating in the Asciak special in the dying moments of the game.
Lauren Ahrens came out best on ground with 22 disposals and 12 intercepts, while Scarlett O’Donnell finished with 18 disposals and 11 tackles.
Ellie Bishop was also impactful with one goal and 16 disposals.
Head coach Liam Cavanagh said he found today's close win to be ‘awesome’ for team confidence going into the back end of the season.
“We had really good stats after half-time, so it felt like we slowly clawed it back,” Cavanagh said.
“We needed a little bit of luck in the last minute and we got it.
“It was an important win in the context of our season.”
Next week, the Bulldogs are on the road to take on North Melbourne Werribee at Melbourne Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Match Details
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.0 2.0 3.3 5.5 (35)
SANDRINGHAM ZEBRAS 2.0 3.1 4.1 5.2 (32)
Goals: Bishop, McKee, Nekrep, Barker, Asciak
Best: Ahrens, Barker, O’Donnell, Brothwell, Stephenson, Bishop
