Inspired Eagles keep streak going
NEWTOWN & Chilwell survived a major scare on Saturday, overcoming a four-goal three-quarter time deficit to steal victory from the jaws of defeat against St Mary’s at Elderslie Reserve.
A loss would have ended the Eagles’ unprecedented winning streak — which now sits at 133 — but some positional moves at the final break gave the home team the inspiration it needed to secure the four points.
“We made a couple of changes and for the first time in the game we moved Jules (Julia Woolley) back to shooter to try to give us a bit of a target,” Newtown coach Jason Woolley said.
“We moved Sophie Barr into goal attack and just tried to attack that way and then gave a couple of youngsters a shot in defence. We moved Casey Price to keeper because their shooter Hannah Van Gemst was killing us, but we went with the youngsters in the defensive end.
“We felt at three-quarter time, obviously it would have to be won from behind, but if we could get close enough and add a bit of scoreboard pressure and keep our intensity up that the opportunities would come and then we would just have to take our chances when they did.
“Luckily that went to plan … and I thought that was one of Jules’ best games for a while. She would have been best-oncourt by a fair way.”
It was a bitter blow for St Mary’s, who now faces an uphill battle to make finals given its draw and that of teams around it fighting for a spot in the top five.
Woolley credited the Saints for pushing his team all the way and praised his younger players for stepping up when it mattered.
“They played really well and played a good, attacking style of netball in their own right,” he said of St Mary’s.
“We had a lot of youngsters in yesterday, so we were looking after the bodies of Kath and Dani based on the longer term view from the advice to sit them out.
“It gave some great opportunities though and it was a high-pressured game … the young ones stood up and played their role and the older ones kept their head, which is all you can hope for, and it is good for us going into finals.”
Newtown now plays rivals St Albans while St Mary’s takes on South Barwon in a mini elimination final. FULL NETBALL RESULTS:
From Page 45