Stars turn tables by pipping Pulse to make final

The scores

WELLINGTON: The Stars defeated the Pulse 5352 in a dramatic elimination final yesterday to set up an allAuckland decider in the ANZ Premiership.

Goal attack Amorangi Malesala held her nerve to shoot the winning goal in the final act of the game in Porirua.

In a fluctuating contest, the defending champion Pulse led 2925 at halftime but trailed 4137 entering the final quarter before launching a late fightback.

The Pulse fought hard to get within two goals, before goal keep Kelly Jury came up with a deflection with a little more than two minutes left on the clock.

In her 100th game in the national league, Jury’s play looked to be massive as the Pulse converted on the turnover and scored off its own centre pass to level things up with less than a minute remaining.

Stars ....................................... 53 then we lost the faith about letting ball go,’’ she told Sky Sport.

‘‘They’re going to kick themselves about all sorts of things but I’m really proud of them.

‘‘I thought there were some really good moments. We expected it to be a really tight tussle and it was.’’

Stars coach Kiri Wills said it was a thrilling moment when Malesala landed the winning goal, to gain some measure of vengeance for losing last year’s grand final to the Pulse.

‘‘I think I gave it a fist pump and did the big woohoo,’’ Wills said.

‘‘Really pleased with that. The Pulse have been hard for us to beat in these pressure matches — two finals lost to them in the past — so to win this is amazing.’’

Wills said her team had matured to the point that it could handle the big moments in major matches.

‘‘That’s the thing we’ve been working on most this season. We’ve got our own little phrase — ‘dynamic composure’ — because often when you tell a team to be calm and composed, they slow down.

‘‘So that’s our thing and it’s worked for us.’’

Stars goal shoot Maia Wilson delivered a typically consistent performance, landing 36 of her 38 shots while Malesala shot 17 from 21.

Young Pulse goal shoot Amelia Walmsley impressed again (41/45) while Tiana Metuarau was quiet in comparison on the shooting front (11/13) but typically busy with her mobility.

The Stars will face the tabletopping Mystics in Sunday’s grand final in the neutral venue of Hamilton. — RNZ