Pies Beat Eagles In Epic Overtime

Scott Lockhart reporting for AFANA from Subiaco Oval, Perth.

Collingwood will face Geelong in a Preliminary Final at the MCG next Friday night after an epic 19 point extra time win over reigning Premiers West Coast at Subiaco Oval.

In one of the most astounding Finals matches of the modern era, Collingwood had the legs to run over an injury ravaged Eagles side in just the second match ever decided by extra time.  Both sides were locked on 72 points when the final siren sounded after a frantic last minute of play where the Eagles defense held strong against a rampant Collingwood who were attempting to rush the ball through the goals for a last gasp match winning score.

West Coast’s tumultuous season now comes to and end and there focus will now shift to rehabilitating their players who have become injury prone throughout this season.

The pressure of the knockout scenario became very apparent in the early stages of the first term as both sides went about making uncharacteristic mistakes, robbing themselves of rare chances to move the ball forward and set up shots on goal.  It was of little surprise, therefore, that the first goal for the quarter should come from a defensive error, this time from the boot of Eagles ruckman Dean Cox whose kick was intercepted easily by Paul Medhurt who kicked truly from directly in front of goal.

Collingwood continued to get on top of their opponents as the quarter drew on, yet still could not manage any scoreboard pressure, allowing the Eagles to escape relatively unscathed from a disappointing early performance which saw them goalless for the first time in a first quarter at their home fortress of Subiaco. 

The Eagles came out with increased commitment to the contest and more productive run through the middle of the ground, resulting in a much needed early goal through Dean Cox who scored from a set shot directly in front.  Ball pressure increased as the term continued with the Eagles  tackling getting stronger and harder by the contest. The Eagles found themselves unlikely leaders after Andrew Embley gathered the ball on the wing and made a mighty run to the 50 meter line where he goaled superbly.

Both sides traded goals in the final few minutes of the quarter as Collinwood wrestled back some of the momentum, Rocca with a soccer goal on the line in the dying minutes reducing the margin to just three points at the half

West Coast came out with the same mindset in the third term as they did in the second, Lynch scoring early to get his side back out to a two goal buffer. The Eagles simply out ran and out committed their opponents for much of the quarter with their forward line pressure reaching remarkable standards allowing them to boot another two goals to have the difference out to a game high 22 points.  But Collingwood were not going to simply lie down and let the Eagles overrun them. Three late goals, two of them through Rocca, for the Pies had them charging towards the final quarter with just a four point deficit just reward for their last gasp quarter efforts.

In a dramatic final term both sides traded goals as the pace and intensity of the contest grew to remarkable standards. Collingwood found themselves in the lead after yet another defensive error from West Coast, much to the dismay of the record 43, 627 record Subiaco crowd.

Collinwood’s midfield dominance could not be halted by the Eagles, despite Cox winning the ruck contests on a near constant basis. A goal to Dale Thomas with just three minutes remaining had the Pies leading by two points as the pressure mounted on both sides. Yet not all seemed lost for West Coast when Andrew Embley strolled towards goal with a minute remaining, but he could not repeat his heroics of last year's Grand Final as his shot missed wildly to the right and for the first time in over a decade both teams could not be separated at the final siren.

In yet another dramatic turn of events it was Collingwood who dictated play throughout extra time as West Coast simply ran out of legs and energy. The youth and fitness of the Pies proved too much for the Eagles as they slammed home three goals to nil to end the Eagles season in heartbreaking fashion.

Final Score:
WCE:            0.4        5.5      8.9     10.12     10.14   (74)
COLL:     	1.5        4.8      6.11    10.12     13.15   (93)

Best:
WCE: Priddis, Cox, Glass, B Jones, Chick
COLL: Swan, Didak, Davis, Cloke
Goals:
WCE: Wirrapanda LeCras 2, Cox Embley Fletcher Lynch Priddis Rosa 1. 
COLL: Rocca 3, Medhurst Didak Swan 2, Cloke Thomas Bryan Pendlebury 1.   

Umpires: McBurney, Ryan, McInerney
Injuries: Hansen (hamstring)
Reports: Nil
Crowd: 43, 627 at Subiaco Oval, Perth