MITTA United won its third straight game to square its win-loss record with an impressive second-half comeback to defeat Tallangatta.
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Down by 23 points at half-time, the Mountain Men got stuck into the second half with a tenacity previously unseen in 2015, led by the likes of Liam Tobin, Ben Paton and Gerard Kissane.
By three-quarter time the margin had been trimmed to just eight points; when the final siren sounded they had sealed a surprise six-point win.
Mitta United remains in finals contention thanks to its three-game streak, after winning just two of its first seven games.
This Saturday’s clash with Barnawartha will be telling in terms of its finals aspirations, but coach Clint Gilson doesn’t want his players to get too far ahead of themselves.
“This was a match we needed to win coming in, no doubt about that,” Gilson said.
“In that sense, getting the points against a high quality side in Tallangatta is extremely important to us; we know we’re better than what we served up at the start of the season.
“But we aren’t in a position where we can look ahead to finals, we have to be a week-to-week proposition at this stage.”
Moving Alex Beggs from half-back into a high half-forward flank position was the catalyst for Mitta United’s resurgence, providing a target forward of centre and delivering the ball inside 50 cleanly.
“We started to win the contests in the middle of the ground and found a bit of momentum after the break,” Gilson said.
“The best part about that was it was our younger players who drove that effort, players like Paton and Tobin.
“You know what to expect from guys like Tyson Gorupic and Nathan Reynoldson each week, but for those players to stand up when the game was in the balance and take that responsibility on their own shoulders is a great sign.
“We’ve got a pretty healthy list at the moment, we’ve still got Dave Paton and a few others to come back into the side, so it’s an exciting time for our club.
“Hopefully we can still show that we are a force in this competition.”