Picola United suffers heartbreaking defeat against Rennie

But things closed up after the main break as Rennie kicked three goals to one in the third quarter, before making the most of its opportunities in the last, kicking three goals straight to Picola United’s 1.2 to record the win.

Blues coach Darby Walsh was understandably disappointed with the result, especially after being in such a commanding position.

“(I’m) obviously not rapt with the result,” he said.

“Normally we pride ourselves on being able to run out games and finish off those close games, so it was disappointing, I feel, to not get that result.

“We had our opportunities late, I think we kicked two points in the last quarter that I would normally think we’d be getting through as goals, but it was more than that, there was plenty of opportunities during the game.

“I think we were really, really dominant in the first half, but we were only 20 points up at half-time.

“There’s no excuses for it, but we were all really disappointed. We thought it was a winnable game for us, and it was very winnable for us, we just couldn’t get it done, unfortunately.”

For all the domination at the contest in the first half, the Blues couldn’t capitalise on the scoreboard, which combined with poor skill errors, contributed to the loss, according to Walsh.

“Maybe they had slightly more of the ball, but not by much at all. We had quite a few skill error turnovers, whereas they were sort of hitting some targets better.

“They got a couple of lucky bounces, I suppose, the ball sort of just fell into their hands a couple of times, but bit by bit they kept coming and coming and we just couldn’t get a goal on the board.

“It was very even, though. As I said earlier, first half we were very much on top, just couldn’t put enough scoreboard pressure on, and second half was a very even game. It fell their way, I suppose.”

With the Blues facing the bye next week, there will be ample opportunity to address the poor ball use at training, with execution set to be the main focus.

“We know what we need to do, it’s just a matter of execution now,” Walsh said.

“We’ll spend a bit of time doing some skills things, talking through a few scenarios as well, but it’s going to be skills, we need to make sure we keep working hard there.

“We’re happy enough with where our fitness is, we’re happy enough with where our game sense is, it’s just those little skill errors that are probably costing us. It cost us on the weekend, but it also cost us the last two weekends before that as well, so we’ll keep working hard on things.”

Picola United slumped to 2-3 for the season and will play Strathmerton in round seven following the bye as it look for its first win since round two.

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Picola United has fallen by six goals to Rennie in the Picola District A-grade netball competition, going down 33-27.

The two sides entered the clash in vastly different form, the Blues in search of their first win, while Rennie was looking to keep its unbeaten start to the season going.

They pushed the Hoppers to the very end, but the Blues fell just short of causing a big upset, although Jacinda Beard and Kimberley McPherson did all they could to get Picola United over the line.

The loss means the Blues slump to a 0-5 start to the season, avoiding bottom place on the ladder due to a superior percentage.

Meanwhile, Rennie sits in top spot with four wins, having conceded less than 100 goals so far this season.