GLENCOE 51 D PORT MACDONNELL 39
GLENCOE and Port MacDonnell faced off at the Murphies home courts in what looked to be an intriguing battle.
After only falling short to the reigning Mid South East premiers by five goals in their first-round encounter, the Demons came out ready to cause an upset, but the inclusion of Glencoe’s Jenna Paproth from that first clash loomed as another challenge.
The Murphies came out the blocks the more settled side.
Their attack line worked with patience to find their way to circle edge and feed to the likes of Chantelle Cocks and Jenna Paproth with great precision, making it hard for the Demons’ defenders to have an early impact on the game.
Down the other end of the court the goalie combination of Megan Hein and Kori Collins took longer to adjust to the tight checking of the Murphies’ defence.
Some early missed goals and forced pressure passing set up an early lead for Glencoe.
As the quarter wore on the Port MacDonnell defenders lifted their intensity to win back some much needed ball for their side, but they were unable to stop the strength of Cocks under the post, who scored nine goals from 10 attempts and the Murphies headed to the first break leading 15-10.
The Bay’s playing coach Hein came out to impress in the second quarter.
She led by example in the attack end, receiving plenty of ball to set up play and be a focal point under the post.
With her goalie partner Collins finding it difficult to get into a scoring opportunity under the lifted pressure of Glencoe’s Sarah Edwards, the leadership of Hein kept the Demons in the game.
The Glencoe attack end continued their dominance with youngster Alice Tentye taking on the bulk of centre pass receives and working her way onto the circle edge despite the immense pressure applied by Kate Faint.
The defensive combination of Alana Berkefeld and Alysha Coon continued to apply pressure and contest any high balls entering the Glencoe goal circle.
When the Demons did gain turnover ball they struggled to transition through court with the Murphies Donna Jaeschke, Chloe Pfitzner and Edwards clogging up the middle third and forcing long cross-court options.
Glencoe extended its lead by another five goals at the main break.
Port MacDonnell made some changes to start the second half, bringing the fresh legs of Shannon Scheidl into the centre, which moved Liza Mutch into wing defence and Faint to the bench.
Glencoe remained unchanged.
Coon began to find her feet and limit the easy option of Cocks under the post for Glencoe.
Her pressure forced some wayward passing from the Glencoe feeders which allowed Port MacDonnell more ball in hand.
Hein continued to dominate under the post and regained her connection with Collins to convert more evenly.
Paproth had to increase her work load in attack to find the front space and draw the double-team off Cocks.
In a more even contest, Port MacDonnell won the quarter by two goals.
Heading into the final term the Demons team came out loud in an attempt to disrupt the calm of the Murphy side.
They made another change with defenders Berkefeld and Coon swapping bibs.
In a scrappy final quarter the Murphies were able to get the better of the Demons with a strong defensive line up.
Chelsea Owen got the better of Hein in the final quarter and contested any passes in her vicinity.
Pfitzner also began to reap the rewards of her hard blocking game with some timely intercepts.
In the end the full court pressure from Glencoe overran the fighting Demons to claim the win.
Best players for Glencoe were Paproth and Tentye, with Mutch and Coon best for Port MacDonnell.
