Under-18 Match Report: Round 6 vs West Adelaide

Under-18 Match Report

South Adelaide vs West Adelaide
Round 6 - Flinders University Stadium - 8/05/2021

Goals: Hoeck 2, Birt, Cockshell, Delean, Draper, Hicks, Rogers
Best: Verrall, Mitton, Draper, Hayes, Birt, Brown

An evenly matched contest at Flinders University Stadium sees South Adelaide Under-18s fall agonisingly short of West Adelaide by one point on Saturday.

The Panthers were able to match it with the second-placed Bloods throughout the day, with Westies twenty-one-point lead midway through the second term being the biggest lead of the day.

As suspected, the evenly matched contest came down to the wire but unfortunately, it wasn't in the Panthers favour as they fell to the smallest of margins, 8.5 (53) to 8.6 (54).

With just sixty seconds left on the clock and with the scores tied, West Adelaide managed to get the ball deep within their forward line but the Panthers were able to desperately clear without conceding a score.

This was only momentarily, as the Bloods intercepted and, with just twenty seconds left, were able to score a behind to take the lead.

With time well against the Panthers, they pushed for one last game-winning goal and to their credit they managed to get the ball to within their forward half but this is as far as they got as the siren sounded.

In any close game, it is easy to dissect the final few minutes to see how it was lost. But footy is played over four quarters, and there were many small moments throughout the day that ultimately saw the Panthers fall just one point shy. 

As for positives, the Panthers were able to fightback and even the scores at three quarter time after facing a halftime deficit of fifteen points.

Finishing with 27 disposals and a goal, Isaac Birt was also one of the standouts for the Panthers, as was Arlo Draper who finished with 27 touches and 9 clearances. 

Hugo Hoeck also made his presence felt on the scoreboard as he added two goals to his tally.

South Adelaide Under-18s will now have a weekend off to recover and reflect, then they will look to bounce back when they face off against Glenelg at ACH Group Stadium on Saturday, 22 May, from 11:30am.

Show that you are #SouthProud in 2021!