Amateur snatches victory after falling behind in overtime

GEELONG Amateur is through to the grand final after an epic one-goal overtime win over Modewarre.

As the two best sides of the season, Saturday’s second semi-final lived up to the blockbuster billing.

The lead changed hands several times but after scores were tied at the final whistle, Geelong Amateur finished the overtime period one-goal up B. O’Kane 24, M. O’Kane 19.

K. Martin 34, J. Kelly 5, K. Vickers 3. M. Barlow, K. Guilmartin, A. Matheson. Not submitted. for a 43-42 finish that sent it into the September 9 grand final. The Warriors were as much as three goals up in overtime before Ammos wrestled back the momentum.

The cool heads of Maisie Barlow and Keisha Guilmartin proved telling, while Kim Martin’s shooting (34) goals and Monique Pedretti’s attack on the loose ball were almost enough to pull the Warriors over the line.

Ammos coach Ashlea Salter praised her side’s defensive efforts but believes there is room for improvement after a number of errors that could have proved costly.

“We had moments where we let them get ahead,” Salter said. “We needed to peg back the score more often than we would have liked.

“Our defensive unit was outstanding.

“However, we weren’t able to look after the ball on centre passes and we didn’t convert all our turnovers.”

After finishing the game a draw, Salter urged her side for one last effort.

“We needed to play another 15 minutes and get the win. We were down by three in the first half of the overtime period, but we pegged it back,” she said.

Modewarre coach Matt Armstrong was pleased with his team’s efforts.

“We had the lead multiple times, and we didn’t keep it,” Armstrong said.

“We needed to make sure we were cleaner and more protective of our possession.

“Our strength was our fullcourt defensive pressure.

“Monique Pedretti was instrumental for us, she gave us the drive we needed.”

Goals: Geelong Amateur — Modewarre — Best: Geelong Amateur — Modewarre —