Match Report
Preliminary Final 1
Saturday 29 August 2023
AJAX v Glen Eira - Elsternwick Park
We made the short trip out to the home of VAFA football, Elsternwick park, to face rivals Glen Eira in the preliminary final.
A spot in the Grand Final was up for grabs and whilst the girls were nervous, they were also excited and confident for what lay ahead. We knew Glen Eira were going to throw everything at us and were prepared for that. The plan was to stick to our structures and systems and know that if we did that we were going to be good enough.
It was a fiery start with lots of crunching bumps and tackles – we expected nothing less. Cobbe was given the task of minding the oppositions best player and was doing a great job. An errant elbow forced her off, but she was back on shortly all taped up and ready to go. This typified our spirit for the day.
The first quarter was an arm wrestle. We kicked against a slight breeze and held our own. Our defenders, lead by Gabriel with Payne-Gill, Brophy,Gunn, Riddle and Goldman right on top. An unfortunate knock to Riddle, who was doing a great job on Glen Eira's past captain, saw her come off to be replaced by Mrocki, who was under an injury cloud during the week. A behind to Glen Eira was the only score of the first term.
The second quarter started well and we had much of the play. Our mids and wings were driving the ball forward with Rainey and Shustin having much of the ball and A Caplan, J Caplan and Boylan getting on top. It was a ferocious game with neither team giving an inch. Cobbe and Klooger were influential. A terrific run down tackle by Nankin lead to a free kick on the boundary line. She went back, lined up and calmly slotted through an amazing goal, which really lifted the team. Then a goal square scramble lead to some quick thinking from Marget and she scored a great goal. We went into half time 10 points in front.
The third quarter was going to be critical. Going against a slight breeze, it was again our defenders leading the way. There were many nervous moments, with each of the defenders taking game saving marks and making huge tackles. Folwell was competing well in the ruck against a very good opponent. A goal to Glen Eira from a down the field free narrowed the margin to 5 points at ¾ time. The scene was set for a huge last quarter. We were ready.
The last quarter was an arm wrestle, with neither side giving an inch.
We were driving the ball forward and getting some good looks, but Glen Eira were defending well. 2 points to Glen Eira brought them to within 3 points, half way through the quarter. It was then the moment came for young gun Hanna Goldberg, taking a huge mark 25 metres out from goal on a slight angle. She went back and put it through to give us a 9 point buffer. We were in search of another and when another young gun, Brooke Tuszynski gathered the ball on the run and dribbled it through for a great goal that put us 15 points up near the final siren. Brooke looked dangerous all day and this was great reward for effort. It was a great team effort in a bruising encounter.
We now face Powerhouse in the Grand Final, next week. Details tbc.
Goals: Nankin, Marget, Tuszynski, Goldberg
Bests: J Caplan, Shustin, Gabriel, A Caplan, Klooger, Gunn
|
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
AJAX |
0.0.0 |
2.1.13 |
2.3.15 |
4.3.27 |
Glen Eira |
0.1.1 |
0.3.3 |
1.4.10 |
1.6.12 |