A tenacious all-round display by College A has led them to a 34-32 win over Celtic A in a thriller between the two rivals.

The first game of ACL premier netball’s championship round on Thursday went down to the wire, however it was College who kept their nerve in a nailbiting final quarter.

It was hard-fought in the later games too, with United holding off a fast-finishing Celtic B side who proved their worth after being promoted to premier 1 earlier in the week.

Hampstead were also made to fight tooth and nail against a fired up Methven side, as the form team of the competition escaped with a 45-41 win.

A gripping night of netball was set up in the first matchup on court.

College were always going to match Celtic for energy, however they brought a noticeable physicality to the equation on defence.

The side edged ahead in the first quarter off the back of Hayley Tallentire and Sophie Adams in front of goal.

Down 11-7 at the first break, Celtic began to dictate the exchanges in the second period and got the ledger back to one by halftime.

It was a bruising third quarter, with both teams staunching it out on defence.

College were disciplined in centre court as they patiently worked the ball into position, meaning Celtic were left with scraps to feed off.

Although they were unsettled into mistakes, Celtic remained in touch via their clinical attacking and mid-courters.

Poppy Kilworth however was a ball of fire in the defensive third for College, throwing herself around to thwart any hint of scoring momentum for Celtic.

College held a 28-24 lead heading into the final period and appeared slightly nervy after the resumption.

Celtic capitalised on a few unforced errors from College, outscoring their opponents six goals to two early in the final stanza.

The green machine squared things up twice during the final few minutes.

However the ice-cool Tallentire landed the pivotal final points as the lead for Celtic continued to elude them at the death.

Later in the evening, Methven provided Hampstead with their toughest game all year as an upset looked on the cards deep into the encounter.

It was tit-for-tat early with both sides making few mistakes.

Methven however brought a physical presence as they looked to get on top of the competition frontrunners.

Even the competition’s leading shooter Alice Eddington was unsettled into the anomaly of consecutive misses on goal in the first quarter as Methven secured a deserved lead.

Hampstead found their groove to wrestle back the lead early in the second period.

However Methven were not going away, and picked up several turnovers to reclaim the ascendancy at halftime, up 23-20.

A vulnerable Hampstead were being overawed physically as they lost midcourter Ashleigh Collier to an injury.

It looked like goal attack Nicole Hands was going to join her on the side early in the third following strong contact, however the shooter soldiered on.

Methven were proving tough to break down at the back, with Sarah McKenzie scrapping for any bit of possession.

Hampstead worked the corners and remained in touch with only a goal separating the two sides at the final interval.

The lead changed hands early in the final quarter as Methven goal shoot Kelera Nawai crucially was off target as the pressure went on.

A strong finish ensured from the blue and golds to deny the out-of-towners by four goals.

United claimed a 33-27 win against premier 1 newbies Celtic B to go to the top of the championship round.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian -  7 August 2020