Fourth versus fifth: It was a virtual final before finals.
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And at half-time, the first grade Cowra Eagles side, hosting the Millthorpe Tigers, were on the wrong side of the equation.
They were 2-0 down as the fifth placed team, and a long way from getting the top four spot required to secure a finals berth.
Despite the Eagles controlling play, the facts were self-evident: The Millthorpe Tigers had managed three on-target shots, and two of them made it to the back of the net.
Yet, 45 minutes later, it was the Eagles who had pulled themselves off the canvas, booking a finals appearance through a combination of skill, luck and an industrious second-half performance from Bevan Foxall, winning 3-2 in an exciting afternoon of soccer at Edgell Park.
Foxall's brace, which came from two fortuitous penalties, was crucial in converting the home team's forward-half control into a positive end result.
The first one, which came about 10 minutes into the second half, made the score 2-1, was a clear handball from an under-siege Tigers defence and was subsequently put away with ease.
The second penalty, which came around the game's 80th minute, involved contact inside the box as Foxall careened towards the goal, with the infringed left winger taking great care to ensure referee Peter Kirwan took notice of the foul.
Nevertheless, Foxall's finish, with the ball going into the top left corner and making the result 3-2, was just reward for a second-half performance where the several of the Eagles' most dangerous plays were run through his side of the ground.
In amidst all that, an own-goal from the Millthorpe Tigers proved crucial in drawing the game level, creating an intense tussle before Foxall's winner.
The final 10 minutes of the game were just as dramatic, with a yellow card issued to a member of an increasingly desperate Tigers outfit, while in the Eagles' defence, Shaun Mortyne nearly scored an own-goal, leading goalkeeper for the day, Mick Curtale, to get particularly animated.
The Eagles will take on Barnstoneworth United in a minor semi-final this Saturday at Orange's Jack Brabham Park.
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