TRAILING by five at three-quarter time, and six halfway through the last quarter, Leongatha had it all to do in the last quarter of their preliminary final against Traralgon at Sale and they very nearly got there.
Match report: In the B Grade preliminary final the tempo lifted appreciably as Leongatha and the Traralgon Maroons went at it goal for goal in the first quarter.
It was a see-sawing affair with Stacey Gilliam starting to impose herself in mid court and up front but a couple of missed shots by the Parrots allowed Traralgon to equalise and then go ahead by one 24-23 at half time.
The game was clearly anyone’s at this point but Leongatha might have had the edge in general play.
Defenders Alicia Marshman and Kasey Thorson had their hands full with a couple of good Traralgon goalers, Nic Jennings and Isabelle Bettridge, willing to take ground and work in close to improve their shooting percentage. The game was a cracker as the players went to half time.
Traralgon stole a bit of a march on Leongatha at the start of the third quarter, but the Parrots came back to cut the lead mainly on the back of some great defence by Kasey Thorson in GD. With Kate Sperling was finding her range in goals, strongly supported by Emma Ton, they evened it up again at 30-all halfway through the term.
It was then goal for goal off the centre pass with Stacey Gilliam doing some great work through the mid court really adding some energy to the Parrots’ attack.
Emma Ton dropped a long bomb from range to close the gap to one, but Traralgon remained resolute, got a couple of turnovers and went out to a game-high five goal lead before Kate Sperling got one back.
Traralgon had assumed the momentum in the match by three quarter time to lead by five.
Three quarter time scores Traralgon 39 to Leongatha 34.
Immediately after the three quarter time break Isabelle Bettridge and Kate Sperling swapped goals with Bettridge and Leongatha’s Emma Ton getting the next two in regulation. On the back of a rebound by Alicia Marshman Leongatha caught up one but the Maroons still had it by six and showing no signs of wilting.
The Maroons’ coach Fiona Morrow had told her players not to go into their shells in the last quarter and they continued to play with a fluid approach to attack through Emma Farley and Nic Jennings. They were doing what they needed to do, or so it seemed.
But Leongatha wasn’t done with, and they surged back into it with some aggressive play by Jade Cashin through the middle. Traralgon got the shakes and suddenly, there was only one goal in it as Leongatha went on a thrilling run.
But the Maroons were never headed in the run to the line. It was tight and tough under the Maroons’ goal ring with Alicia Marshman and Kasey Thorson desperate, but Traralgon kept their two-goal buffer most of the way, finally down to one at the finish, when the centre pass cycle finished with a late Parrots’ goal. Final scores: Traralgon 44 Leongatha 43.
