Ness 30 V 34 SFC FIlsket
The game began with both sides slow to start. Momentum soon built though with quick play from Ness who took the first 4 goals. Centre court play continued to be dominated by Ness with great support from Ailish Goodlad and Molly Fraser. However, as Ness continued to play quickly, some errors started to be made which, due to some fantastic interceptions by Filsket, were converted into goals with Filsket’s Lisa Emslie barely missing a shot. Kristen Jarmson, Filsket’s WD continued to work tirelessly mid-court, making Ness work hard in attack. Ness defence Goodlad and Ruth Christie were working well in the circle though and thanks to winning a few crucial re-bounds, Ness finished the first quarter in the lead 9-7.
The second quarter saw both teams up their performance, resulting in some very fast play, sometimes so much the game became quite frantic. Filsket mid-court were working really well together, in particular Centre Vhairi Graham and WA Nicola Johnston. Ness continued to fight hard, with some lovely shots by GS Estella Smith and GA Sarah Kissick. But with Filsket continuing to work the ball up to their circle well with strong steady play, this quarter saw them close the gap on Ness’ lead to only one point difference, ending 19-18 to Ness.
The third quarter saw the game pick up a notch again as both teams fought neck and neck, neither taking a lead. As the pressure began to show due to the close match, the steady play of Filsket’s mid-court began to shine, and with some superb shooting again from Emslie, she edged her team ahead by 1 goal. Ness defence then made a crucial interception, with Smith again converting this into a goal with steady shooting. However, with Jarmson continuing to work the ball up to the circle well, and Filsket’s fantastic shooters, they edged ahead in this quarter by 2 goals, leading for the first time at 26-24.
The final quarter again remained very evenly matched with both sides determined that they would win the game. Ness mid-court Fraser and Centre Megan Leslie were covering the court well linking to shooter Smith who again was on form. However, the pressure of Jarmson and Johnston of Filsket who continued to work steadily for their team, started to show as Ness made a few passing errors allowing Filsket the advantage. With Sarah Kay defending strongly, and with Filsket shooters continuing to play well, Filsket managed to increase their lead by 2 further goals and win the game 34-30. Players of the match were Sarah Kissick for Ness and Lisa Emslie for Filsket