Kingston improved their unbeaten start to the season after they defeated Keith in a top-of-the-table clash at Keith on Saturday.
The Saints downed the Crows by 24 points. Keith came into the game on a five-game win streak and was confident they could take it up to the Saints.
The Crows started the contest by winning battles around the ground and pushing the ball forward. Max Thring scored the first goal of the game for the Crows as the home team attacked hard. Will Schreiber, Daniel Bibby and Lewis Hender got some football early for the Crows and moved it forward. Kingston fought back and squared the score when Thomas Matsouliadis kicked through Kingston’s first goal of the game. William Watts, Hagan Wright and Campbell Watts were in the thick of the action early for the Saints. Kingston defended well for most of the quarter as the Crows attacked hard to take advantage of the breeze. The loss of Aaron Young to injury hurt the Crows’ midfield options as the quarter went along. The Crows battled hard and had lots of shots but could only get another goal for the quarter from the boot of Ben Simounds. Will Schreiber, Cameron Craig and Thomas Hutchings worked hard for the Crows in the first quarter. The Crows went into quarter time ten points in front.
Kingston turned up the pressure, and their running game got going in the second quarter as the Saints started to control the contests around the ground. Two goals in the opening five minutes of the quarter put Kingston in front after Campbell Watts and Tyler Baker scored. Thomas Matsouliadis was winning clearances and was helped around the packs by Alex Barns’ ruck taps. Hagan Wright, Harry Tunkin and William Watts were gathering plenty of the football for the Saints. Kingston kept the scoring ticking over during the quarter as Alex Barns, Brandon Tapfield, and Ben Warner added goals to help Kingston build a 25-point lead. Kingston was opening up gaps in Keith’s defence with their slick ball movement. Kingston’s defence stood up as well whenever the Crows pushed forward. Saints defenders Ben Rogers, Chris Draper, Jack Armfield, Tom Rogers, Orestis Gambranis and Tom Rogers form a strong defensive unit that the Crows were finding hard to crack. Kingston held a 25-point lead at the long break.
Keith had the breeze in the third quarter as the rain started to come down. The Crows were attacking around the contests. The Crows were getting great contributions from Seamus McMurray, Cameron Craig and Max Thring. Riley Wilsdon gave the Crows the start they needed in the third quarter as he reduced the Saints’ lead to 18 points. Kingston responded straight away when Hugo Fahlbusch-Moore put through a goal. The Crows were taking it up to the Saints, and a Max Thring goal once again brought the margin back to 18 points. Both teams were tackling hard and trying not to give an inch. The rain kept coming down, making it difficult to get some clean play going. Thomas Matsouliadis, Alex Barns, Chris Draper and Campbell Watts were important players for Kingston in the third quarter. Ben Rogers did a lot of defensive spoils for Kingston during the quarter. Aydon Inness, Ryan Bartlett and Cameron Craig were rock solid in defence for the Crows. Kingston led by 19 points at three-quarter time.
It was a good dog fight to start the fourth quarter as both teams tackled hard and didn’t give an inch of space in the first five minutes of the quarter. Kingston broke through first as coach Alex Barns kicked a team lifting goal to give his team a 25-point lead. Hagan Wright continued to run hard as he added to the Saints’ lead by kicking a goal. The Saints had many players running the game out strong. Kingston’s Sam Robertson, Harry Tunkin, Thomas Matsouliadis and Brandon Tapfield were running the game out strong. Keith stayed in the contest as they kicked two quick goals through Billy Wade and Ben Simounds to bring the margin back to 19 points. The Crows were getting lots of hard work done by Daniel Bibby, Will Schreiber, Seb Schreiber, Aydon Inness, Thomas Hutchings and Max Thring. The home team was running the game out strong. Kingston iced the game when Will Watts capped off his good game with a goal. Kingston had done enough to get the victory by 24 points.
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