VU-Western Lightning has endured preliminary final heartbreak in the Victorian Netball League championship division.
The Lightning were the front runners for three quarters before hitting a black spot in the last to give Peninsula Waves the impetus for a 43-40 win at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night.
Lightning coach Matt Hills told the Weekly the manner of the loss was deflating.
“It’s quite tough to lead a game for three quarters and then to not get the result,” he said.
“It’s a lot tougher to lose that way in some respects.
“In boxing parlance, we had them on the ropes for three quarters and basically let them up off the canvas, and they’ve been able to deliver the TKO where we had a number of opportunities to put them away.”
The Lightning coughed up six unanswered goals in the last quarter.
Their two-goal three quarter time lead eroded on the back of a missed shot, a turnover and a held ball.
“At the end of the day, that was the difference in the game,” Hills said.
“That gave them a run of six straight goals.”
The Lightning were not without their share of dramas.
One of their key playmakers, wing attack Amelia Hills, was dazed in friendly fire in the opening term, but returned to the court.
Erin McCarthy, the goal attack, had suffered with a virus leading into the game and was not her usually bubbly self.
Defensively the Lightning was strong, and they were potent in the attacking circle. However, their transference of ball into the front third was lacking at key points in the game.
“They put some consistent pressure on across our attacking transfer and over a number of occasions we gave the ball up,” Hills said.
“The fact that we could score only seven goals in the last quarter told the tale.”
Hills paid due respect to the Waves, who beat them on all three occasions this season.
The Waves have set up a date with City West Falcons in the grand final.
“You have to give some credit to them, they finished on top by two games and they’ve been quite dominant,” he said.
“We hadn’t beaten them this year and this was clearly our best game and our best opportunity but we weren’t able to get the job done.
“They were able to fight back when we had a chance to put them away.”
VNL CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND FINAL
City West Falcons vs Peninsula Waves
Wednesday, July 31 – 9pm, Court 1
