IRYMPLE rallied a thrilling comeback behind enemy lines in a nail-biting finish against Merbein at Compound Accounting Park in SFNL A Grade action on Saturday.
Swallows overcame the Magpies 43-41 in a close contest with high intensity action and a crucial fourth quarter momentum shift.
Trailing for most of the match and finding themselves five goals down at the final break, Irymple took the game away from the host’s grasp in the final minutes.
“I didn’t think it was going to happen actually,” said Irymple A Grade playing coach Shelby Trigg.
“We’ve had a bit of a different week as we actually started off with a meeting and tried to get ourselves back together as a group.
“Throughout that game, I thought oh my god, that was the wrong decision, should have had an intense training.
“But that meeting was about having that hunger, fight, being able to bounce back and at the end of the game we were able to do that.”
Both sides produced solid displays amid some inconsistent form shown as Irymple were coming off the back of a frustrating loss against Robinvale Euston and a draw with Red Cliffs.
“The last few weeks we haven’t been thrilled with our performance,” said Trigg.
“Coming away with a draw and then losing by six after starting so well against Robinvale.
“We were really disappointed as a team, as a coach I felt defeated and didn’t really know what we needed as a team to get us back to where we need to be.”
Merbein’s midcourt movement troubled the travelling Irymple, with Teagan Pettigrew and Vanessa Rodri linking up effectively with goal attack Emily Gray who dropped short to open up space.
The Swallows always stayed within touch as they trailed by just a one-goal deficit going into halftime.
With both teams searching for a must needed win, tensions boiled over when the umpire called a stop to the game in the third quarter and refused to continue until two vocal Merbein supporters were asked to leave by the court supervisor.
“I think that’s been quite an issue in the past few weeks,” said Trigg.
“Umpires need to be more respected.”
In the fourth period, the Swallows defensive structure solidified while goal attack Tarlia Couzner found her rhythm under the post.
“She’s just been solid every week,” said Trigg. “For me, I can kind of direct her and know that she’s going to put all the goals in.
“And to see Evie Oldham come on off the bench and have her defensive pressure was unbelievable, I thought down in defence they’re always just solid and really starting to gel exceptionally.”
Within the last five minutes of the contest, the Swallows levelled scores at 39 all before going ahead for the first time since the early phase of the match.
The Magpies made a final push but faltered with missed opportunities and Irymple held on to claim a gutsy triumph.
“Everyone was able to find a little bit of hunger in them and fight,” Trigg said.
“That was the key to our victory.”
The win lifts Irymple to third on the SFNL A Grade ladder as they will have a break next weekend with the bye.
