West Adelaide v Glenelg Round 4 Match Report

Our one and only Friday night game for the season was an exciting opportunity to take on the second placed West Adelaide on their home ground. It was a hard-fought win after coming from a goal down in the last quarter. The playing group showed real heart to score the last two goals of the game and record a 6-point win.

Four changes to our line-up from last week saw two players make their debut for the Glenelg Football Club. Dayna Cox not only made her debut, but it was in fact the first time she had taken to the field in 369 days following injury. Shae Partington finally made her debut after a month of strong performances on the training track.

The excitement of the game was short lived however, as West Adelaide jumped on us in the first quarter, kicking two goals to none. Their work inside the contest was telling, with the game being played in their half of the ground. We were fortunate to only be down by two goals.

We lifted our intensity around the ball in the second quarter. Whilst we still lost the inside-50 count for the quarter, pleasingly we restricted West Adelaide to just 1 point. We also managed to kick a goal ourselves – a clever snap on the move at the back of the contest from our Captain Ellie Kellock.

The third quarter saw a significant lift from the whole team. We controlled possession and started to get the game on our terms for longer periods of time. Once again, we restricted West Adelaide to only 1 point, while kicking a goal ourselves. When Caitlyn Swanson kicked truly from a set shot 30m out, we hit the lead for the first time and took a 1-point lead into the last quarter.

West Adelaide came out firing in the first few minutes of the last quarter. They were able to kick a goal very quickly and hit the lead again. They looked to have all the momentum.

We are a vastly different team this season. In the past, we would have likely dropped away when challenged like this. We do believe we are a much improved team with a lot more grit than we have previously had. This belief was supported by our actions from this point forward. Within the space of five minutes we managed to kick two ‘team’ goals. The first goal for the quarter was another one from our Captain Ellie Kellock, who benefitted from our midfield and forward line applying lots of pressure, winning the ball and making some great decision to get the ball out of multiple contests and into our forward line. The second goal for the quarter was to our Vice Captain Chelsea Packer, which was the result of a great clearance from Ellie Kellock and a lot of pressure from our forwards and defenders. We held on for last half of the quarter to secure our second win for the season.

Without a doubt this is our best win for quite a while. It has provided us with belief and validation.

The great thing about this even season is you can never get too far ahead of yourself. This week we take on Norwood 12pm this Saturday at Coopers Stadium. Norwood will also be filled with belief on the back of their big win against the all conquering North Adelaide, which now sees them sit on top of the ladder. We are really looking forward to this challenge – our best is good enough.

– Jason Fairall, Senior Coach

Goals: Ellie Kellock (2), Chelsea Packer (1), Caitlyn Swanson

Best: Ellie Kellock, Caitlyn Swanson, Brooke Tonon, Tamsyn Morriss, Alice Bradley, Lucy Earl