Sandringham has won a thriller down at Simonds Stadium, defeating tenth placed Geelong by two-points on Sunday.

In cold but dry conditions down the highway, the Cats stunned the Zebras early, dominating general play with quick and precise ball movement but were unable to make the most of their opportunities.

Attacking football from both teams saw ten goals kicked between the two sides, the Cats only leading by six-points at the first break, despite leading the scoring shots 11-5.

Geelong continued their momentum in the second term, looking dangerous and jumping to a 15-point half-time lead following a four goal to two quarter.

The Zebras kept coming at the Cats after half-time, with Blake Acres (19 disposals, 2 goals) and Darren Minchington (25 disposals) providing plenty of grunt inside the contest and propelling them forward to outscore the home side four goals to three.

Acres’ clearance work in tight, along with his two third quarter goals was critical, along with Minchington’s determination to hit targets inside 50 to be just seven-points behind at the last change.

In a repeat of the third quarter goals, the Zebras again outscored the Cats four goals to three, but it was the surge from the visitors that got them over the line to swing the momentum in their favour.

The final term saw the lead change three times, the Zebras running full of momentum after they took the lead following Nathan Wright’s second goal to put them two-points ahead at the 23-minute mark.

From there it appeared the Cats were done, but two late goals got them within striking distance, only for the siren to sound and the Zebras victorious in a thrilling finish.

Sandringham Coach Paul Hudson was thrilled with the win against the Cats, knowing how difficult it is to beat them on their home turf.

“It’s a great win away from home. We knew heading into today that they’re really tough to beat at home so to do that was terrific,” Hudson told saints.com.au on Sunday.

“We played Nathan Wright as a forward and that worked really well for us, along with the likes of Blake Acres and Darren Minchington through the midfield.

“They got a lot of support from our skipper in Trent Dennis-Lane), from Kade Answerth and Myke Cook. They didn’t dominate statistically but they worked tirelessly to get us the winning result.

“It’ll be great to be back playing at home next week, but we’ll need to be on our game against Essendon, who are in good form themselves.”

SCOREBOARD

GEELONG 5.6 9.8 12.9 15.9 (99)
SANDRINGHAM 5.0 7.5 11.8 15.11 (101)

GOALS: Dennis-Lane 6, Wright 2, Acres 2, Answerth, Curren, Rich, Saunders, Pierce.

BEST: Dennis-Lane, Wright, Acres, Minchington, Shenton, Cook. 

At Simonds Stadium.

Experience this Sunday’s game in the comfort of the Premier Lounge