OVENS and King coach Finton Eames conceded his team was lucky to overpower Farrer by 30 points at W.J. Findlay Oval on Saturday.
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The host league struggled to win possession in the opening quarter but stayed in the match thanks to Farrer’s inaccuracy in front of goal where it kicked 3.6 to 0.1.
But Ovens and King worked back into the contest thanks to a dominant display from midfielder Ben Clarke, ruckman Jamie Bell and defender Steve Williamson and gradually kicked clear.
“We didn’t know what to expect and Farrer probably kept us in it early by missing a lot of shots,” Eames said.
“Our second quarter was really good as we went more man on man and got it back on our terms — after that we played well.”
Although Ovens and King went into the clash without star player Karl Norman, the side looked sharper at ground level and had a spearhead in Hamish Moore who booted six goals.
Farrer coach Gavin Hofert admitted missed chances came back to haunt his side.
“We started really well but couldn’t kick those goals,” Hofert said.
“Even the opposition coach said to me afterwards if we had’ve kicked 6.3 or 7.2 in that first quarter they would have found it hard to come back from that.
“But we were inaccurate and that kept them in the game.
“The O and K kicked some amazing goals, kicking them from the boundary, and we were missing ones that those blokes normally should kick.
“We had plenty of opportunities to win the game but couldn’t finish off.”
Farrer dragged itself back to within two goals of the opposition at different stages later but the O and K wasn’t prepared to surrender the lead.
“Every time we kicked a goal they responded with another,” Hofert said.
Farrer captain Chris Block and fellow defender Aiden Ridley were stand-outs down back while young wingman Jesse Margosis also showed his class.
Small forward Len Haddrill left the ground in the last quarter with a knee complaint and failed to return, but Hofert was pleased to report no major injuries.