JEN CORNWALL
SANDY Creek Green is knocking on the door of the top two after it defeated second-placed Virginia by two goals in Gawler & District A-grade netball on Saturday.
The battle was a contest of speed and skill right from the coin toss, which saw Virginia win the first centre pass.
Going into the first break, Virginia looked like it had the win in the bag after taking a 17-9 lead.
However, the change of Danielle Penfold from goalie to defence for Green improved the team’s pressure in the second quarter.
Down the other end, the shooting combination of Hayley Brooks and Dannielle Cappuletti-Seal began to click and they started to chip away at Virginia’s lead, cutting it to three goals at halftime.
The third quarter saw both sides trade goals for extended periods, before a late run of Green goals allowed it to take a three-goal lead into the final quarter.
The final stanza had the fans on the edge of their seats as both teams went goal for goal, and there was no room for error.
Virginia pushed Green right to the last whistle, but the hard work from the Cockatoos saw them snatch victory.
Despite the loss, Virginia retained its second place position on the ladder, however only by percentage.
Meanwhile, Sandy Creek easily accounted for Xavier Saints by 39 goals.
Both sides remained consistent throughout the game, with minor changes made to the Xavier side.
However, nothing was going to stop Sandy Creek from running away with a very convincing 25-point lead going into the half-time break.
Xavier tried for four quarters to make some gains and reduce the deficit, however it couldn’t quite match Sandy Creek’s determination.
In the final match, Lutheran and Gumnuts faced off, with the former taking out a 15-goal win.
A strong Gumnuts defensive pair in Stacey Challen and Georgia Furst were instrumental in keeping the first quarter scores minimal, with Lutheran leading 6-3 at quarter-time.
Gumnuts tried in the second quarter to fight back, however small errors saw the ball turned over and Lutheran extend its lead to five goals heading into half-time.
Despite sustaining minor injuries in the second half, Gumnuts were determined to keep in the game and not give up.
Lutheran kept up great pressure the whole four quarters and took the win 34-19.