By ADEM SARICAOGLU
HOPPERS Crossing must win its remaining three games to stay in the hunt for a finals berth in Senior Division Turf Cricket.
The Cats remain stranded in ninth position on the table, but are only six points outside the top four and remain one of six clubs vying to fill the fourth and final spot in the four by season’s end – currently occupied by Bentleigh.
Hoppers Crossing helped its cause with a tight eight-run win away to St Bernard’s over the weekend, but that result will count for nothing if it is not backed up in the upcoming two-dayer at home to second-placed South Caulfield.
“I’m raring to go, and everyone is really pumped,” Hoppers Crossing captain-coach Darrel Brown told Star on Sunday.
“Yesterday’s game was a big psychological thing for us.
“I think if we’d lost yesterday, with the young guys that we have, you would’ve seen a few shoulders drop.”
The Cats have only won three games so far this summer compared to South Caulfield’s seven.
However, Brown feels a victory at home against one of the Senior Division’s premiership contenders this coming fortnight should set the Cats up nicely to make a run at the top four in the final month of the home-and-away season.
“South Caulfield is the benchmark,” he said.
“They’ve been playing very well, and if we beat them this week it sends a big statement to the rest of the teams.
“The guys just have to come out and prove themselves, and if we do that against South Caulfield, I’ll tell you what, there’s no doubt in my mind we’d be playing finals.
“We just have to win the next three games. They are absolutely crucial.”
On Saturday the Cats just managed to scrape their way home in their final one-dayer of the summer, successfully keeping St Bernard’s to 8/202 in defending their all-out 210.
Brown said he was pleased with his side’s effort with both bat and ball at St Bernard’s Murphy Oval.
“I think it was probably one of our best performances as a team for the season,” Brown said.
“Everyone stepped up, if not with the bat then with the ball and in the field, so I was pretty pleased with that performance.”
