ANZ Championships Updates-Record crowd spurs Swifts to victory
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The NSW Swifts breathed a collective sigh of relief when defusing a brave Adelaide Thunderbirds 45-42 in a thrilling clash in Sydney on Sunday.
In front of a record ANZ Championship crowd of 10,118 at Allphones Arena, the Swifts were in the driver’s seat when forging a 10-goal lead in the first quarter. But far from pushing on, they faced a testing examination from the determined Thunderbirds for the remainder of the contest.
With their chase starting well on the back foot, there was much to admire of the Thunderbirds spirit, as they finally got back on level terms with six minutes to go.
Willed on by the large vocal home crowd, who were kept on the edge of their seats in an anxious final stanza, the Swifts escaped a massive scare in their push to secure a top two finish ahead of the Finals Series.
Swifts presented with their successful line-up of recent weeks while the injury curse struck again for the Thunderbirds. With Madeleine Proud ruled out with injury, the visitors were forced to reshuffle their attacking line.
With Emily Beaton assuming the centre role and Wendy Jacobsen slotting in at wing attack, the Thunderbirds found themselves all at sea during the opening stanza.
After a jittery start, the Swifts quickly found their groove but it was a nightmare opening for the visitors, the attack line struggling to find their feet, loose passes and handling lapses proving costly.
The home team’s attacking link of Kimberlee Green, Susan Pratley and Caitlin Thwaites revelled in the wealth of possession they enjoyed, Thunderbirds coughing up a lot of ball in their attacking third.
As a result, the Swifts held complete control, emphasised by their 19 attempts at goal during the opening stanza compared to a paltry seven by the Thunderbirds, helping the home team push out to a decisive 16-6 lead at the first break.
Late quarter changes with Beaton moving to wing attack, captain Renae Hallinan to centre and Andre Gilmore coming off the bench to wing defence coincided with a change in fortunes for the Thunderbirds on the resumption.
With the call from the coaching staff to get more ball to shooter Carla Borrego, that’s exactly what happened. Quick release got the ball into Borrego’s hands more frequently while the visitors’ defensive line was much more proactive in forcing the error from the Swifts.
Completely disrupting Swifts attacking flow, Thunderbirds consistently ate into the margin, a five-goal unanswered streak bringing the visitors right back into the contest.
Turning the tables, Thunderbirds restricted the home team to just seven goals for the stanza while reducing Swifts lead at the main break to 23-21.
With the Swifts taking stock and settling back into their patterns of the first quarter, the Thunderbirds could not sustain their intensity.
Calm and measured on attack with Thwaites and Pratley delivering the accuracy under the hoop, the Swifts regained the upper hand during the third stanza. At the other end, Sonia Mkoloma played a dominant role in containing Borrego, gleaning crucial turnovers as Thunderbirds scoring opportunities dried up.
However, a spirited late quarter rally showed the Thunderbirds were far from done as they set about limiting the damage. The Swifts were able to just keep them at arm’s length and the prospect of an exciting finish when they led 35-31 at the last break.
