Macedon 29 Lost 31 Wallan
This is a very hard match report to write as my recollection of the game is very vague. I will be using the stats sheet to drive this match report.
Although we finished the first quarter 2 goals up, there were several obvious things that hindered us taking a strong lead and leaving Wallan behind. We turned over the ball 10 times in the first quarter with 7 bad passes, 2 held balls and a break. Our less experienced mid courted turned 9 balls over in an attempt to keep up with the pace the game was taking. When the ball did make it to our goal circle Chloe took charge and put up every shot. Chloe shot 11 from 15 attempts, shooting out the quarter with 6 in a row.
Our defensive unit was as strong as ever. 6 intercepts with Janelle taking 3 of them, 2 gains from Katie and a rebound each for our circle defenders. All our pressure was paying off but we just lost the ball in the transition into our goal third.
We had a real opportunity to push ahead as we were building momentum heading into the 2nd quarter, even with the 10 turnovers but the quarter time whistle gave Wallan a much-needed break.
Shanae came on the court into GS, hoping to build some court time in preparation for finals, Chloe moved out to GA and Ciara to WA. We cleaned up the mammoth number of turnovers for one player but shared the turnover count instead. The only player not to throw a bad pass in the 2nd quarter was Katie in GK. Leads were lacking, we were over crowding space and the connecting drive just wasting coming. When we did finally get the ball to the circle edge, our goalers didn’t deliver. We only shot 7 goals from 12 attempts, a very costly and unusual conversion for us Cats.
Alex was kept quiet in the 2nd, with no recoveries but Janelle came to party with 2 gains, 1 intercept and 2 rebound. Katie was heavily penalised with contacts and not staying in play, giving their goalers a 2 on 1 opportunity to score. Wallan’s GS took most of the load shooting 6 from 10 and the GA 3 from 4 attempts. Of their 4 missed goals Katie and Janelle made sure that they didn’t have a second chance, rebounding 3 of the 4 missed goals. We were chasing 18-19.
We restructured again with Chloe moving back into GS, Ciara out to GA, Demi F played WA, Dels came on into centre and was later switched out and Ash replaced her and the 3 back line defenders kept their position. Our turnovers continued to mount up from all but one player. No matter who had the ball the options were limited or/and we just made bad choices and forced a pass that was not on. We only shot 6 goals from 8 attempts- something that kills me to write. We were deprived of ball and didn’t go out and demand it.
Again, our recoveries only came from our circle defenders. Janelle had 2 gains and a tip and Katie had 2 rebounds, 1 intercept, 1 gain and 2 tips. Without all this work Wallan would have blown us out of the water. Wallan had a 4 goal run and finished with a 3 goal run to hold their lead and stretch it out to 3. 24- 27.
We made several changes in the last quarter with Shane coming back on to GS, Ciara into GA and later replaced by Chloe, Demi stayed on as WA and was later switched out for Ciara, Ash played centre, later being replaced for Bronte and again our 3 defenders stayed on court. Our turnovers were back to looking like the first quarter. 8 bad passes from our whole attacking end. Our less experienced players were struggling to make good choices and keep their feet moving. We just didn’t get the ball to our goal circle and convert. We shot 5 from 8 attempts but Shanae did rebound 2 of those missed shots back.
Clean in defence, not attracting too much whistle were our solid 3 amigos. Katie killed the GS in the last quarter with 5 gains, 2 intercepts and a rebound. The GS was way off her game and this should have and will be an opportunity we will capitalise on next time we meet Wallan. The GS shot 1 from 6 attempts, while the GA shot 3 from 6 attempts. Although we only shot 5 goals, Wallan shot 4. It was a strong circle defensive quarter from both teams and the game came down to who didn’t turnover the ball through their mid court.
TAKE AWAYS
Not having our normal mid court was extremely costly with 19 of our 28 turnovers coming from our less experienced players. These girls did put in a mighty effort and gave it 100% but the pressure from Wallan’s A grade defenders was something they just aren’t use too. There is a lot of potential in these players.
Our more experienced players, particular in attack did not hold up the attack end. We missed 13 goals, which is way too much when we only converted 29 goals. We have a lot of work to do to make sure that we correct these errors before finals.
Our defensive circle is unbeatable and win us enough ball to take the 4 points against any team.