A SCINTILLATING second quarter by Irymple gave them the ascendency to claim a crucial 41 to 37 goal win over Ouyen United at Blackburn Park in SFNL A Grade round seven action on Saturday.
The Kangas bounded out of the blocks and had a sizeable lead during the first quarter, but a 16-5 second quarter to Irymple was enough to hold off the Kangas.
Irymple coach Shelby Trigg said she believed stability was the key to her side’s win.
“In previous weeks we have used rolling subs a lot, but this week we had a focus on stabilising the team and being nice and settled on the court,” she said.
“Being settled helped us find some flow and we were able to capitalise on the scoreboard.”
Irymple shooter Sam Garraway was given plenty of space to work in and used her body well, which impressed Trigg.
Garraway shot 15 of her 28 goals in the second quarter as the Swallows capitalised on some sloppy Kangas play, with the hosts and defending champions struggling to find the rhythm of the game in that stretch.
Sophie Price was a key disrupter for Irymple in wing defence.
“It was probably the best game I have seen Sophie play,” said Trigg. “She got plenty of tips and intercepts and she hustled the opposition. It was a great four quarter performance from her.”
Ouyen switched up some positions in the second half which helped them win the remaining periods.
Catherine Brown into defence slowed down the Swallows scoring, and the attacking combination of teenager Lexi Munro and Mel Dyda produced some success, but it was too little, too late.
Ouyen coach Kyra Nathan said she was disappointed with another tight loss.
“In that second quarter, Irymple shot really well and we made lots of silly errors on our centre passes,” said she said.
“Our timing was off and we couldn’t really get any flow in the game. We were able to generate a lot of turnovers in the second half with Cat (Brown) moving back to defence, but we made some basic errors that we need to get rid of.”
