BENDIGO Strikers 23-and-under coach Jayden Cowling has hailed a breakthrough VNL win over the Western Warriors as a 'special moment' for the club and his players.
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While they had come close twice before in single digit losses to the Gippsland Stars and Peninsula Waves, the moment the Strikers young guns had been craving finally arrived at the State Netball Centre on Wednesday night, when they wore down a brave Warriors for a thrilling one-goal win.
It brought jubilant scenes from the Strikers players, many of whom are playing their first season in the state's premier netball competition, and would not have even known each other this time eight months ago.
The Strikers, powered by some brilliance in the goal circle from Golden Square's Mia McCrann-Peters and a stellar midcourt performance from Sandhurst's Shae Clifford, did it the hard way, coming from five goals down at half time and two at three-quarter time to engineer an unforgettable one-goal victory.
While they were able to level the scores on multiple occasions during the final term, the Strikers did not hit the lead until late in proceedings.
Down 52-51 with just a couple of minutes on the clock, a run of three goals from McCrann-Peters gave the Strikers a timely two-goal lead.
Desperate for their second win of the season, the Warriors pegged one back through Ella Closter to reduce the margin to 54-53, but despite two misses from the Strikers in the closing minutes, they were able to come up with a pair of critical turnovers to seal a historic victory.
In a watershed day for the new VNL club, both Strikers teams won on the same night for the first time, with the championship team downing the Warriors by 15 goals.
Coach Cowling said the win brought a mix of jubilation, elation and relief after a tough passage through the first six weeks of the season.
"I could not have been prouder of the girls, they finally got the job done," he said.
"But more than that, they've never stopped believing a win would come and they have never given up.
"We had a bit of lapse in the second quarter, but before the game, our focus was purely on the first 15 minutes.
"We didn't want to look too much into the game because that's been an area we've definitely needed to improve on - our starts.
"Even though we were even at quarter time, the girls did everything we asked of them in the first quarter.
"That lapse in the second did cost us a bit, but with a few tweaks to our game, it was a strong second half.
"I thought the girls who came on in the second half did a really great job and got the job done."
"It was great to see lots of players stepping up. It was a nice lift to everyone's spirits after the game
- Strikers 23-and-under coach Jayden Cowling
Cowling declared a frantic last minute, marked by a good degree of composure from the Strikers, as a measure of the progress his side had made in the first few weeks of the season.
"We haven't quite been in that position as a playing group to have a lead that late in the game, despite some close results, so it could have went two ways," he said.
"I was keen to see how the girls would react.
"To their credit, they did exactly what they needed to do, and that was to keep possession of the ball and to keep attacking and stick to the game plan.
"I was thrilled to see it come off. Now that we are on the board, the girls know what they have to do to get another win."
Shooting at 88 per cent for the game and creating numerous opportunities for her teammates, McCrann-Peters (24 goals) was a standout for the Strikers at goal attack alongside shooter Torie Skrijel (28 goals at 71.79 per cent).
One of the few players with previous VNL experience in the line-up, McCrann-Peters' steadiness and smarts proved invaluable, particularly late in the game.
"She was fantastic. In the past few weeks, she hasn't been in our starting seven, but she has been training well, so we rewarded her with the start," Cowling said.
"We took her off for a patch in the second quarter and Mia had a good look at the game, but when she came back on she did an excellent job throughout the second half.
"She shot some great goals at really crucial times and grabbed some great rebounds.
"Shae Clifford again was fantastic; that switch with her going into centre in the second half really opened up the midcourt.
"Megan Wilson coming on at half time at goal keeper got plenty of hands to ball. She's another player who hasn't had a lot of court time in recent weeks, but she stepped up big time.
"And young Eloise Rodda did exactly what she needed to when she came on in the defensive end.
"It was great to see lots of players stepping up. It was a nice lift to everyone's spirits after the game."
Cowling expected his side's clash against the Express would provide the playing group with another big buzz, being their first VNL home game in Bendigo.
He said a pre-season contest against the Express in February before a big crowd at Red Energy Arena had given players not only a good understanding of their opponents, but what to expect in a big-game occasion.
"It's a real opportunity not to just get another win, but to show everyone, from our sponsors to the Bendigo community, how much we have improved from the pre-season," he said.
