Newcomb into grand final

NEWCOMB captain Peppe Scorpo admits his team ‘got out of jail’ on Saturday after a thrilling four-game victory over St Mary’s in the Tennis Geelong Section 1 second semi-final.

After falling two sets to love down, the ladder-leader clawed its way back into the contest in the middle two sets to square the ledger, for a chance to advance straight to the grand final.

Despite losing the fifth set, Chris Higgins and Jonathon Zarb sealed the three sets apiece victory (29-25) with a 6-2 win against Hugo Le Clerc and Peter Ficca, who had subbed in for the injured Anthony Leigh.

Scorpo said it was testament to his team’s depth that it was able to fight its way back.

“We used our get of jail free card I think,” Scorpo said.

“I still can’t believe we won because they had us on toast, so it was a good result.

“They had us, but we fought back well and I suppose that’s a credit to our depth. They had Anthony Leigh injure himself and he didn’t play the last set which probably helped us, but it’s still a good result.”

Scorpo said the message after the first two sets was relatively simple, telling his teammates to remember why they had finished the season on top of the table.

“I think being the favourites to win we were probably a bit tight and conservative, so they (St Mary’s) just got the jump and played really well,” he said.

“There were a lot of unusual shots but after the first two sets we had a huddle and said we finished on top for a reason.

“With finals, when it gets close everyone gets a lot tighter and that freedom of hitting out goes.

“The net tends to be a foot higher and the baseline a foot shorter because of that pressure.”

Teams will now take a break for the Labour Day long weekend before the preliminary final, where St Mary’s will take on Barwon Heads, which won four sets (34 games) to two (27 games) over Hamlyn Park.