Falcons, Bulls in thriller tie

Knox and Noble Park bodies clash mid-air in a chaotic final term at Knox Gardens Reserve. 119736 Picture: JARROD POTTER

By JARROD POTTER

KNOX and Noble Park could not be split at the final siren as an explosive EFL Division 1 draw played out at Knox Gardens Reserve.
Such was the tense atmosphere that it threatened to ignite the crowd into a frenzy at one stage as the Falcons and Bulls were deeply locked in battle.
When a Noble Park player was flung outside the field, the sides went at it as jumpers were ripped, people punched and general mayhem ensued.
Cooler heads prevailed and a stretching Piva Wright mark-and-goal effort brought the deficit back to a point before Knox kicked away mid-way through the final term and that seemed to be enough, as Ben Abraham kicked the Falcons’ eighth goal.
Noble Park didn’t lie down heading towards the final siren though – the Cody connection – brothers Luke and Trent – combined to hit up Kemperman for his second goal and reduce the gap to a solitary point.
In the dying seconds, the ball flew towards the wing and Noble Park’s Dan Keely struck an amazing tap-to-advantage for Trent Cody, who ran to the 50-metre arc and slotted a behind to leave the match deadlocked with the more accurate Knox 8.8 (56) drawn with Noble Park 7.14 (56).
Ryan Minahan and Marcus Jordan (two goals each) were prominent on the scoresheet for the Falcons while Luke Williams, Ben Healey and Scott Davis also starred.
Knox heads to Norwood on Saturday to improve on its 11th place Division 1 standing.