For Seymour Lions Youth girls, their round 12 match against Echuca was one such day.
With limited numbers, Seymour had a tough task ahead of it to topple the then-third ranked Echuca.
The side stood up to the challenge early, with Erin Libardi and Grace Mccloy on fire in the forward line, Georgia Gall dominating in the air and Chloe Locke finding the goals to put the Lions up by two goals at half-time.
Throughout the breaks, Seymour coach Stuart Locke told his girls they were displaying ‘‘very good use of the ball’’, but challenged them to continue to tackle strongly
‘‘Echuca’s bigger girls were trying to break through our tackles,’’ Locke said post-match.
‘‘We were able to successfully execute it in the first half, but we tired in the second.
‘‘It ultimately costs us.’’
Echuca got its run on in the third term, kicking three goals to garner momentum, before kicking the only goal in the final term to snatch the two-point win.
Despite the narrow loss, Locke said he was immensely proud of his team.
‘‘You don’t have to win games to feel like winners,’’ Locke said. ‘‘That’s how I felt.
‘‘What occurred was a team committed to each other.
‘‘The younger girls all seemed to have breakout games on the same day.
‘‘But it was a numbers game in the end.’’
Seymour will travel to Euroa on Sunday to face off against seventh-placed Finley as it looks to solidify a place in the finals.
Their last month of football has seen the Lions stay relatively consistent, sporting a 2-2 record.
‘‘Everyone is improving incrementally and there is less and less weakness in our game,’’ Locke said.
‘‘They’re more and more capable to do what they are asked to do, so we are certainly improving.’’
Final score: Seymour Lions 5.2 (32) lt Echuca 5.4 (34)
Goalkickers: C. Locke 3, M. Purchase, L. Dawe.
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