EMMA TO FOUR IN A GRAND DOUBLE
FOUR goals across two grand finals made for an impressive Emma Lovelady weekend, and she saved her most clinical strike for the dying stages of the North Queensland Premier League season.
The MA Olympic supersub achieved what her side could not in week one of the finals — get past Brothers keeper
Layne Chapman.
Having scored a hat-trick in the reserve grade final win, Lovelady came on to the Premier League outfit’s bench as cover for Teagan Cox, who was feeling the effects of an injury sustained last week.
And she made her impact in the final five minutes to deliver MA Olympic the silverware with a 1-0 triumph.
Given the last time the teams met Brothers were able to withstand an onslaught, Olympic co-coach Michael Brooks said it knew it had the ability, it simply lacked the execution on that occasion.
Brooks said the game plan did not need to change much, the team just needed that killer blow at the end of it.
Enter Lovelady.
“Teagan came into the game with a bit of quad strain and we needed extra cover for her, and she came in and worked her butt off,” he said.
“She did a big game the night before and managed to back it up and do it all again.
“We wanted to do the same job we did for the semi-final; the chances were being created and we just needed to aim away from the keeper for want of more detail.”
After a brilliant save on halftime by Michelle Sawtell, Brooks felt the momentum shift in his side’s favour.
From that moment the belief was intensified.
“Everyone worked hard for each other, and that was the positive — the positivity in this group and the camaraderie has been amazing,” he said.