The Cobram Roar men travelled to Wodonga to face an in-form Diamonds side in what was a must-win game after teams around them picked up valuable points the previous week.

In keeping with the way things have gone this season, another four changes were enforced due to a combination of unavailability and suspension.

Nathan Thomas, Rueben Haley and Delesa Godwin came in for Marius Williams, Florian Dambricourt and Martin Louchet in defence. Kieran O’Donnell was welcomed back and replaced Bill Puckett.

After an excellent performance with no reward the previous week, the challenge set for the players was to back it up and bring back the points. This was achieved with a 3-1 win.

Cobram set up with the same formation as the previous week with an emphasis on good organisation and communication in defence, using the pace of Toby Wane, Jake Kalz and O’Donnell to get in behind the Diamonds’ back four.

The first 20 minutes of the game saw Diamonds enjoy the bulk of possession, probing for openings in the Cobram defensive line.

The back five for Cobram, which was being superbly marshalled by father-and-son duo Nathan and Ted Thomas, had answers for all the questions being asked of them.

This allowed Riley Denny and Jackson Tasso to push up the pitch and provide support to the forwards.

Kalz was able to get on to a through ball from Denny and struck the post with the keeper beaten.

This led to a period of sustained Cobram pressure, which culminated in the Roar opening the scoring.

A cross from O’Donnell was partially cleared to Jordan Nankerville 25 yards from goal.

‘Nank’ stunned everyone by confirming he does have a right foot; his sweetly struck volley flying into the Diamonds’ net.

Within five minutes Cobram had added a second, after neat interplay between O’Donnell and Kalz.

The ball was laid into the path of Wane, who fired an unstoppable shot into the roof of the Diamonds’ net.

The first half played out with Cobram on top. O’Donnell created a great opportunity for himself to make it 3-0. Unfortunately, the finish did not quite match the footwork, with the ball causing concern only for Albury Aiport’s air traffic control.

The same player then forced a tremendous save from the Diamonds’ keeper with a smart volley.

The second half started as the previous one ended, with Cobram well on top. It was vital that during this period the Roar added to their lead, which they did after 60 minutes.

An excellent team move was started in defence by Godwin, who played the ball through the midfield to Tasso.

Tasso played the ball to Kalz, who picked out O’Donnell on the right wing.

O’Donnell cut inside his man before curling a left-foot shot past the Diamonds’ keeper's outstretched arm into the corner of the net.

The third Cobram goal stung Diamonds into action, as they forced the Roar to defend deeper towards their goal.

Following nice interplay, the Diamonds’ striker fired a shot that was destined for the bottom corner.

Jake Keating, however, somehow got a strong enough hand to the ball to push it round the post.

From the resultant corner, the ball was not cleared and when it was crossed back into the box it was headed in by Diamonds.

Despite conceding a goal, Cobram played out the last 10 minutes comfortably, with Diamonds once again struggling to break through a well-organised defensive structure.

The final whistle ended a fine day for Cobram and brought with it a welcome three points.

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Saturday, 6th July 2024

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