Marcellin defeat the undefeated

Lauren Atkinson

The sun was shining at Elsternwick Park on Sunday as a large crowd assembled to watch Beaumaris and Marcellin battle it out for the Division 1 Women’s Premiership Cup.

Marcellin came into the match as the underdog, finishing the home and away season in fourth place on the ladder. Whereas their opposition in Beaumaris, the reigning 2022 premiers, had gone through the entire season undefeated.

Beaumaris came out firing, controlling the play in the first term, to take a 14-point lead into the first break.

Knowing the difficulty that sides had had at putting a stop to Beaumaris’ dominance so far this year, spectators couldn’t help but to wonder if they had gathered to witness a one-sided affair.

Marcellin were quick to put a stop to such thoughts, finding two goals early in the second.

The Marcellin faithful’s cheers were loud, helping to swing the momentum in the Sheagles’ favour, and when the Sheagles kicked their third for the quarter to take the lead, a roar could be heard across Elsternwick Park.

The Sharks had no answers as Marcellin piled on another two goals before half time, pushing the margin out to 17-points as the game broke for half time.

Beaumaris, truly rattled for the first time this year, knew they had work to do in the second half. Their pressure lifted in the third quarter, and after locking the ball in their forward half for some time, Simone Marinelli eventually managed a major to bring the margin back to within two goals. Unfortunately for the Sharks, they were unable to maintain control and allowed Marcellin to respond with a couple of quick goals, meaning they trailed by 22 points going into the final quarter.

The Sharks’ frustrations were clear as they commenced the final term by giving away an undisciplined free kick and 25-metre penalty, allowing Marcellin a set shot from the top of the goal square. Marcellin converted and the premiership hopes of Beaumaris visibly faded away. Marcellin continued to dominate, pushing the final margin out to 36 points.

It was the fairy tale ending for Marcellin, who handed Beaumaris their first loss of the season to clinch the flag.

There aren’t enough words to describe the brilliance of Zoe Glascott’s performance, who ended the day with a phenomenal eight goals, earning herself the best on ground medal.

Jasmine Getson and Charlotte Van Der Vlies were the other goal scorers for Marcellin, while Hayley Carlson and Laura Robertson also played pivotal roles in the victory, battling determinedly all day.