Round 9 - U15AR Grading Match?
03/05/2008
DC Flamingos 11
LOSS to DC Firebirds 19
*** Quarter by quarter scores were messed up on the score sheet ***
Ksenya J was absent and Danielle L (Q1) stepped in to help out for the late arrival of Ebony-Rose P.
A very positive start was undone by basic skill errors.
Players were asked to pass high in order to take advantage of the team's height
DC Flamingos took control of the game from the opening siren. Passes were solid but through the mid-court but a little soft into the semi-circle where they were intercepted often and easily. The managed to put together some good chains of passes and eventually came out in front with a lead 4-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was a struggle for the DC Flamingos. Passing began to fall away and many did not hit their targets. Shooting at goal was off and too many passes into the semi-circle were too difficult to handle. The quarter was very even as far as scoring was concerned (2 goals each) but that was only because of the missed shots. Half time score had the DC Flamingos up 6-5.
The third quarter was a blow out. DC Flamingos players were stepping all of the time and passes to shooters were flying everywhere except for where they should. The problems with feet even extended to offside, stepping and out of bounds calls. There were also far too many close shots missed and several of those were swept away for scores at the other end. All of these things produced costly turnovers and the team did not score in the quarter and gave up 6 goals. Score slipped to 6-11 down.
In the final quarter the DC Flamingos rallied hard and began to lift. There was frequent scintillating play down the court with passes zipping in and out of the semi-circle to create perfect scoring opportunities. It was fantastic to watch so many one-two combinations that kept the opposition out of the play. If only the team could produce this kind of play for the whole game as it does make it multi-dimensional. But just when everything was looking good for a remarkable comeback, silly mistakes with feet and passing allowed the opposition to re-establish their lead. The 5 goals scored in the quarter were the best in the game but the opposition capitalised on the mistakes to grab 8 goals of their own to hand out an 8 goal loss.
The score-line is flattering to the opposition. DC Flamingos were by far the better team on the day but all of the great play on the court didn't translate into goals. The opposition actually played worse and got away with the lucky breaks provided by the umpiring. The team was also a victim of some the most uninspiring umpiring seen for seasons. The DC Flamingos were repeatedly pulled up for what appeared to be imaginary obstructions while the opposition got away with it (stepping, knocking the ball out of hands, too close, etc). It was clearly biased and the senior qualified umpire was making more mistakes than the junior trainee. The score difference could almost be attributed to the umpiring alone but DC Flamingos could have been more competitive by eliminating the things that draw attention from the umpires.
Once again, the GD & GK defence of Erin K and Maddi L is keeping the opposition's score low enough to make games a winning chance every week. Mid-court and attack of Caitlin F, Emma W, Steph L and Ebony-Rose P shows promise every week as passing is varied and players are moving to advantage positions on the court. New comer Alexis R continues a very high scoring success and therefore makes an almost certainty of goals if play gets close to the ring which is what is needed.
In this game when the team needed a spark, Steph L put her hand up for centre and ran hard for all of the last quarter providing the drive and intensity to get the ball from deep in defence to deep in attack. In many cases she left the team and the opposition well and truly behind, nobody could keep up. The team got back within a few goals due to Steph's last ditched efforts. Her passes and court coverage were generally too slick for everyone else handle.
A disappointing result in some ways but there was a lot of outstanding and encouraging play that is the foundation needed for future games.