There was a full team for the final game of the season.
After several team photos, players were advised that they had every chance of a win because last time the two teams played the DC Flamingos had only 5 players.
The game set off at a cracking pace and the DC Flamingos were looking the goods. The first few minutes had the team up by 3 goals. Defence was standing up well against some significant goal shooting height and the rest of the team was driving the ball forward very well. A couple of unforced stepping errors allowed the opposition to recompose themselves and draw level at the end of the quarter 6-6.
The second quarter got off to a bad start with many transfers down the court coming unstuck with poor passes. Swift transitions by the opposition caught the mid-court and defence players out and they took control to lead at half time 12-9.
Half time instructions to the players were to use up the 3 seconds available to make sure of passes to good targets. Passing into the shooters needed to be much higher to take advantage height.
A few positional changes produced great rewards as soon as the third quarter commenced. The ball was rushed down the court several times to take the initiative and leave the opposition trailing badly. This was tremendous to see. Defence almost completely shut down the opposition shooters. The play continued to be very open for the whole quarter and the team was landing great passes and shots that stunned the opposition with a blistering 7 goals to snatch the lead 16-15.
With no line-up changes, the DC Flamingos began the last quarter full of confidence. But this translated into far too much eagerness and passes were made to far in front or way behind players that were on the move. Little problems like stepping crept into the game and players stopped calling out to each other and the whole team became very quiet. Consequently, the momentum in the game shifted back to the opposition to outscore the team by 3 goals in the remaining minutes to snatch the game by 2 goals, 19-21.
Even though this was a winnable game, the close finish was still an excellent way to end the season. The turn around against this opposition compared to the second match in the season was a whopping 23 goals! A sensational improvement that gives encouragement for the next season.
Terrific stuff and a lot to look forward to…
Thanks to the players for participating, the support of the parents and the efforts of Joanne F as team manager (and anyone else who has had a crack at it during the season).