By Mark Murray
ALBANVALE has put Deer Park’s position in the Western Region Football League Division Two top five under threat after a 38-point triumph on Saturday.
Deer Park is sitting fifth by percentage only behind North Sunshine following the 18.12.120 to 13.9.82 defeat.
Albanvale, on the other hand, now looks destined to play finals, moving two games inside the top five.
The run to the finals is heating up with only North Sunshine and Coburg Districts looking capable of sneaking in from the teams outside the five.
The Cobras and Deer Park were evenly poised at the main break on Saturday with the former holding a seven-point buffer.
Both teams made the most of their opportunities when going forward, with the scores at 8.5 to 7.4 at the long break.
Albanvale lifted its intensity in the crucial third term with five goals to two.
Mark Basaraba was a stand-out for the winners while Justin Henderson and David Azzopardi were also solid contributors.
For Deer Park, Paul Martello and Clinton Downing battled hard.
The Western Magpies registered their third win of the season with a thrilling two-point triumph over Brunswick Power.
The Power went close to recording only its second win of the year, but stumbled early in the match, which cost them.
They were playing catch-up after trailing by 17 points at the first change.
Eric Edwards was a star for Brunswick, while David Chan and Michael Lindsey led the charge for the Magpies.
North Sunshine pipped Wyndhamvale Falcons by 10 points in an entertaining contest.
The Falcons fought their way back from a disastrous opening which saw them trail by 34 points at the first change.
By half-time they had cut the deficit to five points.
Sunshine Heights hammered Braybrook by 110 points, West Footscray continued its dominance with a 25-point triumph over North Footscray, while Gladstone Park was crushed by Coburg Districts to the tune of 100 points.
