PORT ADELAIDE remains in the hunt for the SANFL’s top-five finals series despite a narrow loss to pace-setter Glenelg on Saturday.

On a historic evening in which the club hosted its first league football game under lights at Alberton, an undermanned Magpies outfit pushed the ladder leaders all the way, with the Bays eventually winning 9.12 (66) to 8.9 (57).

Coach Tyson Goldsack had earlier been forced to shift the magnets after AFL emergencies Riley Bonner, Sam Hayes, Jase Burgoyne and Quinton Narkle were kept out of the SANFL line-up and Ollie Cheesman, Will Ferrari, Anthony Wilson and Dylan Aldridge stepped in.

Despite those changes, Glenelg never looked comfortable.

“I was disappointed for the group given the effort they put in under a bit of duress during the game and with some late changes today, but I thought the guys who came in late complemented the team,” Goldsack reflected after the game.

“We didn’t have the greatest start and fell down in some of the areas that were our focus points. We tightened them up from quarter time and were really good for the last three quarters but gave them some easy shots on goal early.

“Glenelg let us off the hook a few times and we let them off the hook a couple of times as well so it was a real arm wrestle.”

While the Magpies never held the lead, the margin never exceeded 19 points.

Led well by captain Cam Sutcliffe (27 disposals off half back) and with young midfielders Jackson Mead (27 disposals and eight clearances) and Hugh Jackson (25 disposals and six clearances) finding plenty of the ball, Port continued to fight back, and threatened to steal victory late.

“In the last couple of years, teams would get a run on and we wouldn’t be able to stop the momentum but now we seem to be able to wrestle it back and get it on our terms and steady the ship a lot quicker without a quarter or half time break to settle it down,” Goldsack said.

“It’s a sign of a maturing team even though we’ve got a lot of guys in their first or second year of league footy.

“If we’re playing that kind of footy – and I think we’ve still got plenty of growth in us – we’ll be pretty competitive over the next couple of weeks and hopefully in finals.”

Hard nut Nick Moore delighted the vocal Alberton crowd with three goals including a long helicoptered shot in the third term to keep his side in touch.

Perhaps the goal of the day came from Orazio Fantasia, making his return to the lineup after missing two games through a quad injury. The experienced forward marked 65 metres out, faked around the man on the mark, then cut past a second defender before straightening and nailing the major on the run to bring his side to within seven points at the final change.

But as they threatened to all night, the twin targets up forward for the away side – Liam McBean and Luke Reynolds - found their scoring boots and extended the margin to 19 points within two minutes of the re-start.

But the Magpies refused to lie down and three of the next four goals through Jackson, Jed Hagan and Murphy Short kept the home side in the contest.

Hagan’s was the pick of the bunch with his ridiculous left foot checkside from the pocket lifting the crowd to its feet.

Lachie Hosie’s second major late in the final term ended hopes of a Magpies’ win and Cody Szust’s soccered consolation goal on the siren made the final margin nine points.

While disappointed with the final outcome, Goldsack was proud of the way his side embraced the challenge and stood up on a big occasion.

“It was a really good atmosphere. It was a great night for it. There was some rain threatening to ruin the show but the Port Adelaide sunset is always a glorious time of night,” the coach remarked of the side’s first ever twilight game at Alberton.

“The guys love playing under lights and we were looking forward to playing this game for a number of weeks, knowing Glenelg is the benchmark of the competition.

“The fact we could turn up on a big occasion and take them all the way and nearly get them done is a real testament to the effort the guys put in.”

Port Adelaide will next week travel to Noarlunga to take on South Adelaide but remain inside the SANFL’s top five.

SCOREBOARD
Port Adelaide    1.2      2.6        4.7      8.9    (57)           
Glenelg             3.4      4.4        5.8      9.12   (66)              

Port Adelaide
Goals: Moore 3, Hagan 2, Fantasia, Short, Szust
Best: Mead, Hagan, Dumont, Moore, Sutcliffe