Heidelberg and Diamond Creek Women’s 1 produced an absolute thriller in their Heidelberg Golf Club Division 1 clash at Warringal Park on Friday night, with the Creekers holding on for a nail-biting one-point triumph.
In what was a close contest from start to finish, the Creekers held their nerve in the big moments and came from seven points down at three quarter time to prevail 3.7 (25) to 3.6 (24) over the Tigers.
The win sees Diamond Creek Women’s 1 remain a game clear on top of the Division 1 table, whilst Heidelberg have slipped to third after St Mary’s defeated Banyule by 15 points in their Friday night clash.
Makaylah Appleby and Holly Pink were brilliant in midfield for the visitors, with Appleby kicking the crucial goal in the last term to get the Creekers rolling.
Appleby has now kicked six majors for the year and has been in her side’s best in seven of 10 matches, making strong claims to win a second Division 1 league best and fairest.
Another that helped Diamond Creek Women’s get over the line was Talisha Rowland, who played a critical sweeper role across half back to help keep the Tigers goalless after half time.
Heidelberg’s midfield trio of Mia Tascone, Jessica Kennedy and Tessa Hankinson were also dominant, with all three holding down key areas across the park.
Meanwhile, Tigers forward Ava Vincent provided plenty of spark up inside attacking 50 and finished with two of her side’s three goals on the night.
It was her teammate in Emma Rowe that got Heidelberg on the board first, kicking the opening goal of the game after the Tigers had all the territory in the first six minutes.
Linda Thorp responded four minutes later at the other end to give the visitors the lead before Vincent capitalised on a great opportunity in the final moments of the quarter to see Heidelberg take a five-point advantage into the first break.
Not much could separate the two teams in the early stages of the second quarter, making for a high-quality contest.
Diamond Creek Women’s would eventually make the first move of the term at the halfway point when Lauren Durante gave her side back the lead with her 15th major of the season.
But again, Vincent would have the last say of the term in what was another period of dominance for the hosts. She was able to convert her opportunity on goal and regain her side’s advantage heading into half time.
A seesawing third term between the two sides followed, with both having patches of momentum as they looked to break the game open.
But neither team were able to make the most of their chances when the momentum of the match swung their way. The Tigers registered three scoring shots to one for the quarter, but all shots on goal were behinds, which established a seven-point Heidelberg lead at three quarter time.
It would be Diamond Creek Women’s who started the final term strongly, and it was Appleby who found the big sticks at the four-minute mark, as the captain nailed the shot on goal to make it a one-point ball game.
The Creekers would continue to produce multiple entries inside 50, and while they could only muster behinds during that period, they found themselves two points to the good with eight minutes remaining.
Heidelberg would try to create one final surge in an attempt to steal the lead, but it was the away side’s defence that stood tall when required. They conceded just one behind in the term which was enough to finish as one-point winners in one of the games of the season.
