THE Ballarat Miners were outclassed by the lowly ranked Sandringham Sabres when they played away from home on Friday night.
Sitting third on the SEABL east conference ladder, the Miners were keen to get their weekend off to a winning start. Two two outfits were neck and neck for most of the first term , going into the break at 22 points each.
However the hosts proceeded to turn up the heat in the second term, piling on nine points in two minutes to create a comfortable buffer. Sandringham spearhead Alister MacDonald led from the front with the assistance Aquill Baynard as the Sabres went into the change with a six point advantage.
However it was the third term where the Sabres truly began to assert their dominance on the match, scoring 34 points to Ballarat’s 22 for the quarter. While Miners big man Ollie Bailey competed hard, the consistent contribution from Sandringham continued to cause problems for the Ballarat side.
The Miners staged a spirited fightback in the final quarter to get within two points, however the deficit would prove to be too great as the Sabres toughed it out to win by seven points. Ballarat will have to regroup ahead of their clash with Geelong at home on Saturday night.
