After a seemingly long wait to find out who we were to play in this Semi Final, I received word on Monday evening that it was to be Regent House. Within hours, we had arranged a date and venue, that being, a day and a half away! All credit to both teams, they responded to their respective teachers with alacrity and the match was on!
The Inters had the opportunity to watch and cheer on their younger schoolmates as they played their match against Hunterhouse. Later as they awaited their start time, it was lovely to watch the camaraderie amongst the two teams. They chatted and then played against each other, sharing their mutual enjoyment of the sport. This was excellent, as it gave the Inters a chance to get up to match readiness.
I have to say… it was evident from the start which team really wanted that spot in the Final the most. The ERGS girls put on a mighty performance from start to finish. Due to one missing key player, the team had to re-jig themselves in order to fill in this position. Fortunately, this had been practiced so the girls were pretty comfortable with it.
From the first quarter, the ERGS team passed the ball skilfully into our attacking circle with a mixture of short, fast passes to long looping passes that sailed over the opponents’ heads and into the waiting hands of our very able GS or GA. These passes most often resulted in a score.
Maria Bullock and Eve Balfour were the scoring duo for the first half; we then mixed things up and swapped in Eloise McDonagh for the second half. All 3 girls rarely missed the target or if they did, they invariably caught the rebound and rectified their error. Jodie Thompson and Lucie-Anne Abbott played up a storm in WD and WA respectively as did Anna Cairns and Jessica Foy in their 2nd positions of GD and C respectively. These 5 girls worked tirelessly and seamlessly together to ensure they came out on top during each quarter.They out-thought their opposition and used space and signals to great effect. We did eventually ( in the last quarter) change both Anna and Jessica into their usual positions of C and WAwhere they continued their super work.
Also giving a fabulous performance today was our GK Chloe Robinson – she was out-marking her player and defending many passes into the circle and also, shots on goal. Last to get a mention is Aimee Callaghan – this eager player came to us as a goal shooter, however, her potential as a defender shone through much more strongly. As a GK and GD today, she prevented many a shot being passed as she ‘faced off’ her opponent thereby making it hard for her to find free space. A tactic she used most effectively today.
As each quarter was played, so our goal tally mounted. 8 – 2 in the first quarter to finish with 35-10 by the end of the match. This is a fantastic score and an achievement that each of the girls should be very proud of.
The Final is to be played on or before the 20th March. As yet, we do not know who our opponent will be as we are await other match results.
Squad:
- Lucie-Anne Abbott
- Eve Balfour
- Anna Cairns
- Jessica Foy
- Chloe Robinson
- Jodie Thompson
- Eloise McDonagh
- Maria Bullock
- Aimee Callaghan
