Noone can believe it, but yet we have come to expect it between these two teams. Another 14 minutes at least, how excruciating! I'm trying to get a feel for who has the momentum, it feels slightly like the aussies do because they clawed back to put themselves in a winning position in the final seconds, but has that missed goal dented their confidence? NZ can score quickly, there's no telling what could happen. Only one change - Scarlett is on for de Bruin. Norma has stuck with our lineup, I completely agree!
NZ centre pass. They've turned it over! Momentum must be with us! Hands are all over the ball from both teams, total desperation. Ball is in the aussie circle, Williams loses her shoe. Everyone on edge while she puts it back on. Double-knot it, Casey! C-Bass is the first to score, the aussies are up our end of the court. Aussies up by 1 with the centre pass to follow.
Scarlett gets into the game quickly with a nice intercept on a last second lob attempt by Pitman. Is she the fresh change NZ need? Tuti levels the scores, kiwi centre pass. The aussies are pouring the pressure on at the centre pass, it's so close to a held ball and Williams only just holds onto a desperate pass by leaning on the ball in the goal third. Corletto knocks over van Dyk and now van Dyk has lost her shoe, what's going on with the shoes?! NZ up by 1.
Medhurst levels, Glitz gives away a cheap penalty, NZ by 1 again. Pitman called for breaking at the centre pass, heart sinks. But van Dyk fumbles a straight forward pass over the sideline and C-Bass takes another strong grab to level the scores. Three minutes left before the change of ends.
An easy goal both ways. Excellent aussie defence on the centre pass again, Langman forced to 2.99999999 seconds and again Williams takes a desperate pass under huge pressure. The screech of "HELD" reverberates around the stadium. NZ hang on to score with Glitz out of play - tidy up Glitzy! NZ up by 1 with 1.5 minutes left before change of ends.
Another goal each, ball bounces errantly out of court before aussie centre pass, Mon is scrambling to get it back quickly. NVB has the presence of mind to wait until Mon re-enters the court before she takes the centre pass.
How any of them have presence of mind in this situation is beyond me! We can't hear ourselves think and we can see that the players can't hear each other. They're screaming at each other but the player taking the pass isn't turning towards the screamer, the crowd is drowning them out. They're resorting to clapping at each other, waving arms madly. Each player is having to look at first, second, third passing option to make sure.
There's less than a minute til change of ends. NVB gets the centre pass away, but soon Williams deflects the ball over the sideline and it lands under the media table. Must get the ball out from under the table, hurry up lady, HURRY UP!! I want to go and get it myself! Burgess is telling Henry to stay out of the circle, not for the first time in the match. Advance the penalty, Gary! She's wasting precious time! Medhurst sends the ball in to C-Bass who takes it at full stretch on her non-preferred side, how nimble! She shoots from halfway. Oh god. Sinks it!! Breathe.
There can't be much time for NZ to score, and if we hold them up until the 7 minute mark it will as good as a turn-over because time will stop and they'll change ends, and it will be an aussie centre pass! "HOLD IT UP, HOLD IT UP" we're begging. Again Langman has to use nearly 3 seconds, how much time left? No idea! NZ are having to pass back and forth in the centre third, the aussie defence is throwing it all at them.
NVB gives away the netball equivalent of a professional foul - a deliberate obstruction in the goal third to hold up play and steal a few seconds. The lob will go into van Dyk in a second... but before Langman gets it away Beans blows the whistle to signal the end of the first 7 minutes over-time! Aus have stopped them from scoring and we have the centre pass! Crowd is wild!!!
Photos by Gallo Images and Suhaimi Abdullah / Getty Images AsiaPac
Scores level, players immediately swap ends and set themselves for the aussie centre pass. NZ shooting up our end now. Another well-weighted lob into C-Bass and we're up by 1. NZ equalize easily. A poor lob into C-Bass is intercepted by Scarlett, it's a carbon copy of the start of the last 7 minutes! But NZ are tentative in the goal third, Tuti looks buggered and doesn't follow through on a lead as strongly as Corletto who comes through and manages to snatch an intercept. Medhurst scores and she fires up, clapping and screaming to her teammates.
Tuti offloads to van Dyk, who scores. They're not taking chances with long shots. Medhurst is forced to take a long shot up the other end and it bounces cruelly out of the ring, Williams takes a strong rebound. Tuti gets the ball in her normal shooting range and for once doesn't have Corletto right on her hammer, but she's uncomfortable and passes back out.
"SHOOT IT" the kiwis are imploring. Glitz penalised again, Tuti gets a second chance and goes for it, sinks a great long shot. NZ up by 1 with centre pass to follow, 4.5 minutes to go. Another penalty shot to Tuti and she gets it. She's back in it. NZ by 2. Not much time left. Gotta make a move now.
C-Bass misses a long shot, now we're looking shaky. But it's our throw-in, Medhurst drains a penalty from Scarlett and pots an easy one under the post. Thank God! Cowbell girl in the crowd makes an attempt but we're having none of it, everyone is far too nervous and stressed to move, except for involuntary jerky arm movements as we ride each pass.
NZ are moving the ball carefully around their goal third, but a little too carefully, finally the held ball call we have been waiting for! The ball bounces over to the aussie bench and Norma springs to her feet and rips it back over - nice touch, Plum! The bench players are bouncing up and down uncontrollably.
Looking down court from our seats, the kiwis seem to take up the whole court with long arms and legs, I don't know how the aussies can see past them. They're playing it back and forth, back and forth, until Medhurst sends a pinpoint long lob into C-Bass and thankfully she stands strong and picks up a penalty from Scarlett. BIG PHEW! Great call Beans! Scores are level!! 2.5 minutes left! Aussie centre pass!
Medhurst takes a difficult shot under all sorts of pressure from Scarlett, flirts with 3 seconds and just drains it. Kiwis scream "HELD"! Everyone else just screams. Seems like the first time in ages we have hit the front, is this it? Can we hang on? It's too early! Still 1 minute 45 seconds left! Not much time, but still a lot.
Great full court pressure from aussies, but Glitz is out of play outside the circle. Tuti shoots but misses. Van Dyk pulls in the rebound by her fingernails, in the middle of an aussie sandwich. Crowd suddenly quiet, holding breath collectively while van Dyk shoots... and scores. Scores level, just over a minute left, aussie centre pass. Must score.
Aussies work the ball down to the circle edge, and suddenly NVB unbelieveably sends a lob high out of court. She is human after all! Kiwi throw-in. Oh. My. God. Must turn it over now or it's all over.
The ball moves down court more quickly for NZ than in previous plays, and it's in Tuti's hands. Less than a metre from the edge of the circle. It's a long shot, but this is Tuti's bread and butter. Can't believe this is happening, it's the Commonwealth Games all over again. She won it for them last year, she's going to win it for them again. Stomach is in my ankles. Hands at my cheeks. There's no way she'll miss.
She misses.
Ball bounces back towards her and Glitz throws her entire body sideways at it, suddenly it's whizzing down court to NVB. That didn't just happen!!!!? There can only be seconds left, scores are level! I hate that the clock stops at 1 minute, stupid clock, giving me nothing! How are we going to get it down there? Bodies are flying everywhere.
It's at our circle edge, but there's a penalty against Langman. QUICK. Medhurst has it. It's a long shot from more than halfway, similar spot to Tuti's. Somehow she has offloaded it over the giant arms of Williams and Scarlett. C-Bass pulls it in. Scarlett is penalised for her attempt at intercepting it. I CAN'T SEE. I CAN'T SEE. The whole crowd is on its feet. C-Bass is right under the post. Take your time with the penalty shot, C-Bass. You have all the time in the world. I can't watch, but I can't take my eyes off her.
I can't see whether it goes through. The reaction of the crowd and the aussie players tells me. Beans has his arm up, signalling time.
It's over.
Photos by Chris McGrath / Getty Images AsiaPac; Gallo Images / Getty Images AsiaPac; www.australiannetballdiamonds.com.au
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