HEYWOOD has kept their season alive in the most dramatic of circumstances, claiming a South West District Football League elimination final victory over Dartmoor 9.12 (66) to 9.11 (65) on Sunday at Cavendish.

The Giants situated themselves better in the early stages of the match, breaking away to a three-goal advantage by the time the siren sounded for the end of the opening quarter.

However, the Lions were not going to let a subpar start keep them down, and through the second and third terms they set about chipping away at the margin to eventually take a two-point lead into the final change.

And it was ultimately the Lions who were able to execute a special come-from-behind victory to book themselves a matchup with Tyrendarra in another do-or-die final this weekend.

Key tall Nathan Hardingham was once again pivotal for Heywood, bagging three goals while also being named in the side’s best.

Late-season recruit Nathan Lovett-Murray was also impressive, as were Joshua Stiles, Nyawi Moore, Tim Reid and Malakai Walsh-Bannam.

Heywood senior coach Sammy Walsh-Bannam said his side had shown great belief in themselves to respond to a strong challenge served up to them.

“It went down to the wire and was probably a bit too close for comfort, but having come back from five goals down to get the win is a great effort,” Walsh-Bannam said.

“We were able to play our brand of football and get ourselves back on top… they kept coming at us as we expected they would, but fortunately a couple of early goals in that fourth quarter were enough to keep us in front.”

He said Dartmoor had come out a significantly different side to the one his group had beaten by 47 points as recently as round 15, adding that it goes to show that finals football brings a new level of intensity along with.

“They had everything clicking for this week… it certainly wasn’t the same outfit as the one we beat a couple of weeks ago,” he said.

“This was one of the most physical games we’ve played all season, and it’s a credit to Dartmoor the level of intensity they brought to the table.

“I think playing in an elimination final with that knowledge that there could be no next week, it just makes it that much more intense.”

Despite the Giants’ best efforts, headed up by skipper Lachie Polaski along with William Watson, Kaleb Bowd, Rhys Malseed, Kyle Carlin and Joseph Franklin, they were ultimately just ever so slightly short of the mark on this occasion, and will now look to how they can rebuild for another shot at the premiership in 2024.

Cavendish turns the tables

Sadly, for Tyrendarra, lightning didn’t strike twice in the second of their consecutive clashes against Cavendish, as the Bloods came away with a 14.8 (92) to 8.6 (54) victory.

It didn’t look as though it would be a comfortable win for Cavendish throughout the first half, as the sides were neck and neck through one quarter, before the Darras managed to get their noses in front by half time to go up by eight points.

But they call the third quarter the ‘premiership quarter’ for a reason, and in this case the Bloods outscored Tyrendarra eight goals to two to take control of the contest.

Their senior coach Sam Gibson as well as Brodhi Carracher each provided an imposing target up forward for the Bloods, as they bagged four goals apiece, while the Bloods also got strong performances from Harrison Rees, Christopher Quinn, Johnny Gardner, Edward Purvis and James Huf.

Gibson said it was a welcome return to form for the group as they “got the monkey off their back” after stumbling at the last couple of hurdles in the home and away season.

“I think what was most pleasing was that we came out of half time and really just played the game on our terms,” he said.

“I think we were back to our best to be honest, which was really good to see.

“We knew that was how we wanted the game to play out for us… we expected Tyrendarra’s pressure to be really high early and slowly drop off in the second half and that’s what ended up happening.

“We emphasised cutting off their short kicks and holding our shape through the middle.”

Gibson said he also noticed a shift in mindset from his group as compared to their previous matchup with the Darras the weekend before.

“Finals is obviously a completely different ball game, but I think we came into the game with the right mindset… the difference was notable even at training during the week,” he said.

They’ll now prepare to do battle for the fourth time this season against Coleraine as they look to book a spot in the grand final.

Meanwhile, the Darras weren’t able to get the job done despite excellent performances from Matthew Hardiman, Jack Burton, Tommy Haylock, Dylan Murray, Sam Peters and Jack Cocks, while Jordi Withers’ return to the line-up was fruitful as he kicked four goals.

Tyrendarra will now face off against Heywood in this weekend’s first semi-final on Sunday.