Justin Sherman lays a tackle during his three-goal best-on-ground performance against Port Melbourne. 84828_04 Picture: DAMIAN VISENTINI
By ADEM SARICAOGLU
GIANT killers Williamstown claimed its second scalp in two weeks on Saturday, knocking off VFL powerhouse and fierce rival Port Melbourne by 11 points.
The Seagulls came back in the final term to steal four premiership points that lifted them from ninth to fifth on the ladder with five rounds remaining.
There was nothing pretty about it as heavy overnight rain provided for atrocious conditions at Burbank Oval, where thick mud covered most of the playing surface.
Williamstown coach Peter German said the ground was in better condition when he left the club the night before.
“I was surprised there wasn’t an inch of water on top of the ground,” German said.
“You could have played at any ground today and it would have been muddy, so I’m not going to hang the curator out to dry today.
“But with this ground, we’ve got to cut it some slack because it’s all new, it’s (still) got to settle yet.
“We’ve just a real wet winter, really.”
The conditions meant goals were extremely hard to come by for most of the game.
Poor kicking and wasted forward entries curbed Williamstown’s ability to apply scoreboard pressure throughout the first half, trailing Port for the entirety of it despite having more scoring shots in both quarters.
The Seagulls temporarily led the game after the break when eventual best-on-ground player Justin Sherman goaled in the first minute of the third term, but that was followed by three unanswered Port goals.
By the final change, Port had momentum and a decent 14-point lead in a low-scoring game, but Williamstown could still sniff an upset.
The loyal crowd that bravely withstood the elements were given a treat as their Seagulls clawed their way back.
With both sides struggling to move freely, Williamstown kept digging and feeding the ball inside 50, and unlike the first three quarters, their persistence began paying off on the scoreboard.
A goal to Andrew Hooper and two to Dylan Addison handed Williamstown the lead by the 20-minute mark of the final term, before Sherman showed his class with a long range goal from the boundary line that buried the Borough.
Coming off the ground, the Seagulls received a standing ovation from their fans before singing their song with a little more gusto than usual, but German was just pleased luck was on his team’s side in a game that could have gone either way.
“Every game now probably becomes a mini final, and you’d think against Port Melbourne, they don’t come much bigger,” he said.
“In the end there, the boys just dug deep, and I thought for the first time in a while the footy gods actually smiled on us.
“But you make your own luck.”
The win comes after Port gave the Seagulls an 80-point belting in the 2011 grand final rematch earlier this year.
Williamstown: 7.14 (56) to Port Melbourne: 6.9 (45) Williamstown:
Goals: J. Sherman 3, D. Addison 2, T. Hill , A. Hooper
Best: J. Sherman, D. Addison, B. Jolley, T. Campbell, E. Carr, M. Talia
Port Melbourne:
Goals: D. Galea 3, T. Langford 2, T. Pinwill
Best: S. Valenti, S. Pleming, T. Langford, M. Johnston, M. Wall, J. Purcell
