Close exciting game saw Finch pinch it in the final quarter.
Eagles 25 - 31 Finch Green
Wellington College
20 October 2019
The last match before the half term break saw an exciting, intense, fast-paced match against a focused Finch side, testing the young Eagles team on all fronts. The final score does not reflect the closeness of this hard fought match, with each side separated by only one goal in the first three quarters. Finch pulled away in the dying minutes of the game following some unlucky misses on goal and careless passes from a tired Eagles team but nonetheless this was a very exciting match, with lots to take away and work on in training over the break.
The first goal of the game was a great shot from Grace, which was then followed up by some disciplined play and great interceptions from Georgia and Keira. The Eagles set pieces took the ball well down the court via good passing into space from Helena and Izzy, but outstanding defending from Finch made it difficult to get the ball into the shooters and on to goal. The quarter ended 4 -3 to Eagles.
The second quarter started as the first, with a terrific goal from Grace and more confident play from the Eagles team. Great shooting from Lottie took Eagles clear, but Finch fought back to even as Eagles lost a bit of confidence in the middle of the court. It wasn’t long until Keira took one of her trademark interceptions and the game was back on. Outstanding pressure from defenders Georgia and Nya kept the score at the end of the quarter 12-12 with all to play for.
Two excellent goals from in-form Sophie gave the team confidence at the start of the third quarter. Unfortunately some sloppy passing and unforced errors cost the team dearly as Finch fought back getting 4 goals in a row. Excellent shooting and team play followed from Sophie and Grace bringing Eagles back into the game and ending the quarter 21-22 to Finch.
A nail-biting final quarter saw some excellent, fighting play from Helena and Izzy to land the set pieces up to the goal circle. This Eagles team was not giving up, but a short lapse in confidence saw Finch pull away, scoring 5 goals in a row with 5 minutes left to play. One last goal from Eagles in the dying seconds was not enough to bring the game back, as the game finished 25-31.
