Haisman Shield | Gallery | Central Park-St Brendan’s grinds its way to victory over cross-town rival United

They then overcame a couple of early hiccups to cruise to the victory total, with Rhiley Lau’s unbeaten 32 off 32 balls the highlight of the successful chase.

A performance that showcased Central Park-St Brendan’s’ ability to win ugly, coach Tyler Larkin said there was a lot his team could take away from the clash.

“It was another solid win for us,” Larkin said.

“The effort in the field was particularly pleasing, I thought it was the best we’d bowled as a unit all season and in the field we got four run-outs, but created about seven opportunities.

“Intensity-wise it was really good, the batting side of things we could have been a lot better with a few run-outs making things hard.

“There is still plenty for us to improve, but to keep chalking up wins at this stage of the year it is very important.”

With the sun beaming down on Deakin Reserve, United captain Chaminda Vindanapathirina won the toss and batted without any hesitation.

But while the conditions favoured the batters, it was the Tigers bowlers who rose to the fore early, as the likes of Max Hooper (1-9), Ramadan Yze (1-23) and Brendan Scott (2-22) combined beautifully to not give United an inch.

“We bowled really well, but particularly in the first 15 overs, where, although we didn’t get many wickets, we hardly bowled a bad ball which is something we’ve been trying to work on,” Larkin said.

“Max Hooper, who’s come up from the B-grade, has done a really solid job for us and was excellent again yesterday.

“But the guys just complemented each other so well which is very promising signs for us on that front.”

Patient knocks by Rehan Bari (36 off 88) and Steven Tate (31 off 67) ensured United batted out its overs, but with 115 on the board the Tigers found themselves well and truly in control at the halfway point.

But Cricket is a funny game and in the first over of the Central Park chase, United seized the momentum by removing opener Jarrod Wakeling for a diamond duck and skipper Scott for a fourth-ball globe.

Reeling at 2-0, flashbacks of last year’s shock late-season loss to their rivals reared their ugly head for the Tigers as the experience of Andrew Cowen (22) and Larkin (23) went about rebuilding the innings.

Showcasing great poise, the pair would put on 39 to see their team out of dire straits, before youngster Connor Holland continued the cause with a solid 24 off 34.

But — similarly to the previous week’s win over Karramomus — Lau was the man to get the Tigers over the line, with his run-a-ball 32 a sign that he is finding form at the right time of year.

“It certainly wasn’t ideal being 2-0 in the first over, especially when both of those wickets could have been avoided,” Larkin said.

“But it was pleasing that we were able to rebuild at the end of the innings and it was great to see Rhiley Lau hit them well again.

“With our finals push we need Rhiley playing well, he is such a dynamic player when he gets going and a real X-factor for our team, so hopefully he can continue his good form leading into the finals.”

Currently sitting in fourth spot, the win keeps the Tigers’ hopes of a top-two finish alive as they sit three points behind Katandra in second and one behind Kyabram in third with one match to play.