Montmorency 1 have started 2023 in winning fashion, defeating Heidelberg 1 by 11 goals in their Section 1 clash at La Trobe Sports Stadium.
A 20 goal first half set the tone for the Magpies, limiting the Tigers to just eight majors in the process, to secure the 36-25 triumph.
It’s Montmorency’s first win in the 2022-23 NFNL senior summer netball competition since their victory over the Tigers in the final round of grading back in November. Both sides now sit with a 3-3 record and occupy fourth and third place respectively.
Magpies shooting duo Morgan Jones and Danielle Vickery-Howe combined well in the attacking circle. Jones finished with 19 goals and was on hand to provide plenty of assists to Vickery-Howe who produced 17 majors.
Christina Charitakis was also impressive, creating a solid number of feeds and assists to the Montmorency attackers as well as providing plenty of energy when moved to wing defence in the third quarter.
Heidelberg’s 25 majors came through duo Steph Tucker (13) and Emily Williams (12), with Tucker now moving to third in the competition’s leading goal scorers tally.
Both sides took a few moments to settle into the contest before Montmorency started to grab the momentum, forcing turnovers and making quick plays towards their attacking circle in order to rush out to a five goal to one lead at the midway point of the first.
The Tigers quickly levelled things up around the court but couldn’t gain as much territory as their opponents and trailed by five goals at the first change.
Montmorency produced another strong start to the term, with their pressure in the midcourt causing multiple turnovers from Heidelberg.
Much like the first quarter though, the Tigers started to settle to make it an even contest, but again they were unable to make any major inroads on the scoreboard. A late charge from the Magpies saw them extend their advantage to eight goals at half time.
It was much of the same in the third quarter as the Magpies made their intent known with multiple entries inside their attacking circle. The Tigers were able to apply small amounts of scoreboard pressure throughout the quarter but still only managed five majors and trailed by 11 at three quarter time.
Heidelberg started the final term as the better of the two sides as they aimed to reduce the deficit. The Tigers produced an eight-goal quarter, their best quarter of the game, however Montmorency were able to match them to keep their 11-goal lead intact as the final whistle blew.
