Railways knocked out of A1 title race in Albany Netball Association after Magpies claim elimination final win

Magpies 1 withstood a strong challenge from Railways 1 to keep their hopes of back-to-back premierships alive, prevailing in the Albany Netball Association A1 elimination final on Saturday. The defending premiers led by a single goal at quarter-time and then coughed up the lead in the second term. However, they dug deep to outscore their opponents by nine goals in the last half to secure a hard-fought 12-goal win. The victory helped the Magpies progress to this Saturday’s preliminary final when they will face Narrikup 1 with a spot in the decider on the line. The two sides went goal-for-goal early on before 10 goals from Magpies captain Brittany Finigan helped her side take a narrow advantage into the second quarter. Railways sharpshooter Amy De Goumois was on fire in the opening term, scoring 14 of her side’s 16 goals and she produced a perfect second term. De Goumois had six goals from as many attempts just a few minutes into the second quarter as Railways took the lead. The Magpies, however, led by centre Amy Dominiak and wing attack Jasmine Butterworth, regained control as Casey Greay and Finigan ensured they went into half time up by three goals. De Goumois returned 11 goals at 100 per cent in the second term and again she was relied on heavily in the third as Railways fought to stay in the game. The Magpies caused multiple turnovers in mid court and their shooting combination pushed the lead out to five goals by the last change. The first goal of the final term went to De Goumois but moments later she went down clutching her leg, coming off with the injury and spending the rest of the match on the bench. That proved a pivotal part of the game as Railways quickly fell eight goals behind and the Pies went on to record a 58-46 triumph. The Magpies were best served by Greay, who finished with 29 goals from 34 attempts while Finigan added 29 goals as well. Claire Warburton was rock-solid in defence while Maggie Hardiman and Dominiak provided strong drive as their side progressed to the preliminary final. Rowie Stewart worked hard for Railways in mid court. De Goumois was outstanding until going down as she shot at 91 per cent to finish with a game-high 31 goals. Wing defender Hayley Williamson also impressed while Tayeesha Weeden replaced De Goumois in the final period and hit six of her eight attempts to finish with 10 goals from two quarters.