A QUICK start and third-quarter break paved the way for Old Collegians to start its Warrnambool and District league A grade season on a high note.
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The Warriors held off a fast-finishing Merrivale to win 45-40 in the Good Friday fixture at Merrivale Recreation Reserve yesterday.
They shot to a five-goal lead at the first break, thanks to clinical rebounding by goal keeper Chloe Arnott, and had a 10-goal buffer at three-quarter-time.
But they had to withstand a fightback in the final term. The Tigers cut the margin to three and threatened to snatch the win before falling short.
Warriors coach Lisa Arundell was pleased her side could prevail in the “arm wrestle”. She played up the importance of the early break.
“We were lucky in the first quarter, they had the non-scoring end, they had the wind. We managed to get quite a few rebounds and capitalise,” she said.
“By the first break we were five goals up, but we could never quite get away from them. The wind had a little bit of a role in the game.”
The decisive period came after half-time. The Warriors won the term 13-9 to build a double-figure advantage.
“That was our best quarter without a doubt. We knew they’d come back at us. We only gained one goal in the second quarter,”Arundell said.
“That was very much a factor going into the third. I felt that was by far the best we gelled for the whole day.
“The last quarter, fitness and concentration levels were a major factor in them coming back at us. Credit to them, they did not stop all day.”
Arnott was among Old Collegians’ best, along with goal attack Sophie Ballinger.
Goal attack Danielle McInerney, centre Kate Dobson and goal defence Kate Ryan led the way for Merrivale.
Tigers coach Raewyn Poumako was pleased with her charges, despite the defeat. She rued shooting to the wind-affected end early.
“Our first quarter wasn’t great, we were up the tougher scoring end. The wind was really swirly,” Poumako said.
“In that first quarter, we had a lot of the play. But first game, a bit of nerves, bit of excitement, we couldn’t score.”
Poumako urged her players to “get back to basics”. The result was a much-improved display after quarter-time.
“From the game today, I feel really positive with what I’ve seen, heaps of good things happened,” she said.
“The other stuff I think we need to improve on, we can. They’re not going to be things we can’t change.”