DARYN Cresswell is refusing to hit the panic button after Wodonga Raiders snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Lavington.
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The defeat severely dents the Raiders’ top-three hopes and leaves them in a log-jam for the top five with Wangaratta and Wodonga posting impressive wins on the weekend.
Not that the Raiders coach is worried.
“Everyone wrote us off after being 0-3 at the start of the season. I’ve still got a lot of faith in the boys,” he said.
“We’re not going to throw the baby out with the bath water.
“We’ve missed four points and that’s all it is. Next week is worth four points, the same as the five games after that.
“We’re disappointed we lost so we will learn from it. We won a close one against Yarra, we lost a close one against Lavi.
“I thought we were the better team for the most part of the day but against good teams you can’t miss opportunities like that.
“It’s got to give you confidence to match two of the top three sides.”
The Raiders still have to play Albury and Myrtleford in the run home but they also meet the bottom four sides on the ladder, starting with Corowa-Rutherglen at John Foord Oval on Saturday.
Myrtleford moved one win clear of the Raiders in fourth position by beating North Albury but the Saints have a treacherous three-week stretch ahead with games against Albury, Lavington and Yarrawonga to come.
The Magpies sit just two points outside the top five after beating Yarrawonga and face a big match against Lavington on Saturday.
Beyond round 13, the Magpies play just one side in the upper echelon – Myrtleford in round 16 – and they should be well placed to pounce if the Raiders or Saints falter.
Lavington moved to second and all-but sealed the double chance by beating the Raiders but coach James Saker knows they can’t afford to slip up against the Magpies.
“It gives us breathing space but now we have to consolidate it,” he said.