BOTH TEAMS WERE ON A MISSION

Squad: GK Sally, GD Sarah P, WD Jennie F, Centre Maddy & Shrimp WA Maddie,
GA Naomi, GS Emily. Sub Kelly (Captain)

Both teams started on a mission and it was very clear from the first turnover of Centre which went to ANTS and was instigated by Maddie ANTS centre for the first quarter, that neither teams were prepared to relinquish gaining a lead as ANTS went ahead by a couple of goals and then GEMS tightened up and made some important interceptions in the defending circle enabling them to pull those goals back! We were in for a good game and the scene had been set But ants were just edging it when they produced another turn over and they finished the quarter three goals ahead!
Statistics first quarter:
Shooters 7/2 split (GS/GA)
Centre court - intercepts/ turnovers x 3
Defence : 6/2 split (GD/GK)

When retiring after the first quarter to the coaches bench Captain Kelly made it very clear to all the players that the wing attack in GEMS was the game player and was a key player in feeding Gems shooters and that ANTS had to make it their priority to break her gameplay down in order to get the edge on the opposition during this game because she could see this game was going to go to the wire!. As the team went back onto court they had their instructions and Jen Francis at wing defence did what was asked of her and tightened up her marking of WA and shrimp at centre also helped her to try and cut down any advance moves the wing attack could make particularly as Gems were specifically looking for her. This tactic was proving very successful and to counterbalance these moves ANTS were progressing their passes at a much faster pace down the court starting from Sal goalkeeper through to Sarah P who was playing in a dynamic role at goal defence making several interceptions this quarter giving her team the edge. The shooters also raised their game as Maddie and shrimp were using the pockets to find the feed into them in the circle whilst Naomi was hanging out and leaving Emily with the space to receive the ball and then at pace moving into the circle to gather up any loose passes. ANTS steadily increased their lead to 22-16
Stats:
Shooters 7/6 split (GS/GA)
Centre court - intercepts/ turnovers x 6
Defence : 5/3split (GD/GK)

The team chat after the second quarter was very positive and Kelly was impressed with all of the girls who had followed her prompts to help them progress their lead however she required a few more tidying up tactics in the defensive circle from goalkeeper and goal defence and indeed the wing defence marking around the circle.

Third quarter : usually this is not the best quarter for red ants but in actual fact this was the quarter where they really picked up the pace and showed their strength to Gems who with their lead player taken out of the equation were failing to find their mark and therefore not scoring so many goals! The breakdown of the opposition had progressed to another level where we saw Naomi at goal attack pullback a very cheeky pass into Emily with shrimp also chasing down loose balls being backed up by both Maddy down the attacking end and Jenny in the defensive and centre court area. There was a superb interception by Sarah Peet at goal defence which looked impossible and all of these aspects put that extra pressure on to Gems who fell behind by 27 goals to 35 this quarter. The defence had done what was asked of them by Captain Kelly by shielding the goal side in the circle and cutting down movement by the two gems shooters who literally struggled to gain access to the semicircle.
Stats:
Shooters 11/2 split (GS/GA)
Centre court - intercepts/ turnovers x 8
Defence : 7/3 split (GD/GK)

Sideline talk was all about the praise for the whole team as they had really pulled their game together that third quarter and so they relaxed a little bit going into the fourth quarter and this was in fact reflected in their gameplay as suddenly gems red got the bit between their teeth and made a final bid at a come back which was assisted by ANTS as their concentration appeared to wane and a few more shots on goal were missed which hadn’t been happening through out the game but it was the Centercourt for ants that really came strong in this quarter keeping a steady core presence steadying the ship even though gems were converting more goals and we were giving them the opportunity to do so. Fortunately for ants they had built a buffer into their third quarter and it was too late for Gems to come back although they did win that last quarter by 10 goals to ANTS eight goals being converted! With a final score standing at 43 goals to 37!
Gems Reds player of the match which they chose was Emily the ANTS goal shooter for the night, Which was well deserved.
Stats
Shooters 5/3 split (GS/GA)
Centre court - intercepts/ turnovers x 8
Defence : 3/2 split (GD/GK)

Areas to work on at training:-
Shooting Circle: Clearing out to make space
Centre Court: Loose Hands/ Footwork/
Defending Circle : Goal Side defending / across court passes

GEMS POM: EMILY MERRITT
ANTS POM : SARAH PEET
Congratulations and well deserved!