It was a match that showcased everything
the sport of Netball has to offer and a match that only two teams desperate to
keep their premiership hopes alive could provide.
Health and Life Phoenix eventually came out
the winners defeating The Royal Cougars in the second half of extra time,
60-58, at Netball SA Stadium on Thursday night but it was a match neither side
deserved to lose.
A relieved Phoenix coach, Lee-Anne Cummins
paid tribute to both sides after such an intense encounter.
“It’s an awesome way to win but it’s a
really horrible way to lose, so it’s always good if you’re the winning end of
that.” Cummins said.
“All fourteen girls on the court gave
everything they had and it was a great spectacle.”
The nerves were obvious as both sides tried
to work into the game through steady game play and both sides took advantage of
turnover ball. The lead changed throughout the first quarter as the two teams
took risks, throwing long searching passes down the court.
However, turnovers in the goal circle were
hurting the Cougars. With a much easier passage, Phoenix took a 3-goal
advantage into the quarter time break.
After some good defensive work from GD
Nadia Mapunda, the Phoenix got a much better start in the second quarter. They
dominated the early minutes to take a 5-goal lead. But just when it looked as
though they would break away, the Cougars fought back to cut the lead to 2
goals.
This pattern continued for much of the
quarter with the Phoenix leading by 6 goals at one stage but through
determination the Cougars ensured the lead would be a slender one. At halftime
the Phoenix led by 2.
As the third quarter began, the intensity
on the court lifted and the crowd could sense the closeness of the match. They
were right. Once again the lead changed throughout the third quarter as neither
side could dominate the other.
The Cougars movement around the attacking
third had improved allowing GS Jess Roberts more space in the circle. In an
exciting quarter the Cougars led into a break for the first time in the match.
The lead was just 1-goal heading into the final quarter.
The Cougars kept up their moment to stat
the final quarter moving out to a 5-goal lead, their biggest of the match, and
looked reasonably comfortable with 10 minutes to go. However, one missed shot
was all it took for the Phoenix to get back in the game.
With 5 minutes to go the Phoenix leveled
the scores through Mel Rowland. The deadlock could not be broken until Jess
Roberts looked to have won the game for Cougars on the final whistle. The shot
was ruled to be too late, however, and so after four quarters the scores were
all square at 50 a piece.
Although there had been three draws during
the minor rounds this match produced the first extra-time of the season,
testing the players nerves and composure even further.
Once again, the first seven minutes of
extra-time was extremely intense as the two teams went goal for goal on centre
pass. Experience counted for
everything and this showed with Phoenix GK Dalice Kennedy and Mapunda looking
to force turnovers.
Leigh Waddington was also dangerous in the
mid-court for the Cougars and steadied the Cougars. Nothing could separate the
two sides after the first seven minutes of extra-time. The scores 54 all.
With scores again going on centre pass to
start the final 7 minutes of extra-time it seemed that the match could still be
going into the early hours of Friday morning.
Phoenix finally broke the centre pass
scoring to take a 2-goal lead with only a few minutes remaining. The Cougars
were not giving up but when they lost possession with less then a minute
remaining the task became too large. Phoenix holding on to win by 2-goals in an
exhilarating performance from both teams.
Phoenix coach Lee-Anne Cummins will again
be looking for a good start from her side when they take on Contours Matrics in
the preliminary final.
“We really focused during the week about
getting off to a good start. Cougars would have been on a high after beating
Woods last week to secure that final spot, so we knew we had to get on top
early to try and snuff their confidence.” She said.
“The game last week (a draw against Spring
Gully Newton Jaguars), whilst we would’ve liked to win, was actually a good one
because should we be in that situation again we’d had that bit of pressure so I
think it did work in our favour.
“The experience of some of our senior
players, Dalice and Ed (Edwina Gosse) really helped steady the ship.”
In the major semi-final ETSA Contax became
the first team through to the 2012 Subway Cup Grand Final in a comprehensive
victory over Contours Matrics. A result that not many people would have picked,
the undefeated Contax won by 23 goals.
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