Some quick thinking from midfielder Dillon Williams saved the day for Eaglehawk in its BFNL clash with Castlemaine on Saturday.
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In the dying seconds of the game, with Eaglehawk in front by one point, Castlemaine looked set to score a behind to level the scores and pinch a crucial two points off the Borough.
"Dillon's body was over the point line, but he somehow juggled the ball inside the point line,'' a relieved Eaglehawk coach Travis Matheson said.
"He dumped the ball out wide to the boundary and then the final siren rang."
It could end up being the play that qualifies Eaglehawk for the finals.
Anything less than four points against the ninth-placed Castlemaine would have been disastrous for the Borough.
With up to 11 senior players missing because of injury, Eaglehawk was forced to work hard to hold off the fast-finishing Pies 9.6 (60) to 9.5 (59).
The Hawks led by 12 points at three quarter-time before the home side stormed home with three of the final four goals of the match.
"We didn't go down there (Camp Reserve) and take them lightly,'' Matheson said.
"Even when we played them down there last year they brought plenty of pressure and that's what they did today."
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Coming off a 30-goal hiding from Golden Square, Castlemaine narrowly missed out on defeating the Borough at Camp Reserve for the first time since 2005.
"I'm disappointed we didn't get over the line, but I couldn't be prouder of the boys for their efforts,'' Castlemaine coach Don Moran said.
"We had four entries in the final two minutes, but just couldn't get over the line.
"Eaglehawk defended well and our young side hasn't been in that position very often.
"We won't dwell on it. It was a great effort considering we were down to two rotations on the bench.
"Our pressure around the ball was fantastic for four quarters. It was where it needed to be all season. We competed hard and we kept the ball in our forward half which allowed our defenders to reset.
"Hopefully, this gives the boys some belief that they're not the easy beats of the competition."
Hard-working half-forward Sam Thompson was best for the Borough, while the midfield group of Dillon Williams, Joel Mullen, Billy Evans and Noah Wheeler worked hard.
Wheeler injured his hamstring and is likely to miss next week's game against Gisborne.
Castlemaine midfielder Tommy Horne was arguably best afield on the back of three goals and a plethora of possessions.
Defender Riley Pedretti kept Hawk forward Darcy Richards goalless, while Will Moran and John Watson gave the Pies plenty of drive.
The Pies, who were without Bailey Henderson, Jack Chester and Zac Denahy, were hampered by the loss of Tommy Cain (hamstring) and Liam Wilkinson (quad) to injury.
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