Koroit scores after-the-siren win against top-two Hampden league side Terang Mortlake

Clem Nagorcka kicked the winning goal against second-placed Terang Mortlake on Saturday following a late free kick.

The 14.12 (96) to 13.16 (94) result lifted the reigning premier into the top-five after nine Hampden league rounds.

Saints coach Chris McLaren, who expects premiership players Tom Baulch, Tim Martin and Alex Pulling to return to the side next round, said it was a special victory after being 26 points down at quarter-time.

"It was a pretty exciting day. I think it was the first after-the-siren game I've ever been involved in, playing or coaching," he said.

"It was the only time we hit the front for the day. Young Talor Byrne - I watched the vision this morning and on the day you think 'gee, it looked like a high free'.

"It was probably 20 seconds before Clem, probably 15 metres out right in front. It would've been a big moment for a 15-year-old in his first game (but it wasn't paid)."

McLaren said it was a nerve-racking finish.

"On the day you think everything is a free kick when you're a goal down with a minute to go," he laughed.

"Clem got a high and a little in the back and I reckon the siren went before he was off the ground. It was 30 metres out, almost directly in front.

"He knew it was in as soon as it left the boot. The boys got around each other and the younger Koroit boys charged out on the ground."

Terang Mortlake coach Ben Kenna, whose side boasts a 7-2 win-loss record, wants to loss to light a fire under his players.

"It was fairly edge of your seat all day, ebbed and flowed throughout the second half and it was a strange sort of a game - to be in front for the whole 120 minutes and then lose after the siren," he said.

"It was a pretty weird feeling. Sometimes you have a sick feeling that's a possibility to happen.

"Usually in a game that is that close both sides have had their turns in front but we were in front the whole day.

"In the first quarter we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit, kicking 4.9."

Kenna said it was a high-quality game between two finals aspirants.

"The pressure was on, I reckon the crowd would've even felt that," he said.

"It felt like an intense game. There were mistakes made. You potentially notice your own team's mistakes more than the opposition when you're in that moment but if you watch the game back there were moments Koroit would've felt like they coughed up opportunities too.

"We learn from it, as much as we were disappointed, we have to get better next time."

Koroit now has five wins and four losses to sit fifth on percentage.

"When you slow down and think about it in terms of our season, it's a pretty big win for us in terms of keeping ahead of the ledger in the win-loss," McLaren said.

Terang Mortlake - outright second - is pleased with its form across the first half of the season overall.

"It is the first closer game we've dropped. We've won a few other games that have been reasonably tight, so you don't get them all as much as you'd like to," Kenna said.

"You learn more from your losses. You analyse the game a bit more and it re-affirms some areas you need to improve whereas if you win by a couple of points yesterday, you probably don't scrutinise those things quite as hard."

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