• Footscray, Yarraville, Braybrook Star

By Tim Doutré

9th February 2010 11:05:23 AM

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IT’S over. Footscray-Edgewater put the nail in its Premier Cricket season after failing to defend their total of 198 against Casey-South Melbourne on Saturday.

The Bulldogs went in to day two’s play well and truly behind the eight ball with the Swans sitting pretty on 40 runs without the loss of a wicket.

Enter a fired up Brad Robertson, whose second-day heroics nearly got the Dogs over the line for an improbable win.

The paceman took 5/34 off 22 overs and had the visitors to Merv Hughes Oval hot under the collar nearing the end of play at 8/191.

“Robertson was outstanding,” Footscray-Edgewater coach Michael O’Sullivan said. “He believes he is a part of the competition now, he believes he is an opening bowler. He is top shelf and has backed it up most games. He has showed a lot patience. He didn’t play a game in the ones last year after playing the year before.”

But the Swans tail managed to wag just enough to knock over the total and finish the day on 8/202 off 89 overs. The loss leaves the Bulldogs 17 points out of the eight in 13th place– a mathematical finals chance but not a realistic one.

Despite the result all but ending the Bulldogs season, O’Sullivan noted it was one of his side’s best performances.

“Probably the best performance we have put in I would have thought, certainly our best bowling performance. It was a bit of a travesty that we couldn’t get over the line. We were brilliant. It took them the best part of five hours to get that 160-odd runs. It shows our perseverance, our persistence the pressure we had were outstanding.”

O’Sullivan said the end to day one’s play ultimately cost his side the game.

“If we hadn’t let them bat last week and we had batted to 225 and just hung in there they wouldn’t have got anywhere near us. We were a bit unlucky (on day two). There was a contentious decision there was a caught-and-bowled given not out if you can believe it, which was a very match-turning decision.”

Robertson remains the highlight with the ball in recent weeks. His performance on Saturday took his tally of scalps to 25 (including Twenty20s). The Bulldogs’ strike bowler has taken multiple wickets in the last four games.

The Bulldogs take on bottom-of-the-ladder North Melbourne this Saturday.

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