Hampstead Ray White A well and truly saved their best until last, defying the underdog tag and upsetting Celtic Auric Electrical A 29-26 to claim the 2023 ACL Premier 1 netball title on Thursday night.

It was Celtic’s first loss in two seasons of ACL Premier netball, and came at the end of what had been a dominant season for the Ange Leadley coached side, which saw them head into the final match of the season as firm favourites.

But anything can happen in finals netball and the Cindy Meadows coached Hampstead side were pumped up and ready to give it their all, and from the opening whistle their intentions were clear.

By the end of the first quarter in front of a large and loud crowd Hampstead had the lead 7-5, and by half time they’d extended that lead to 15-11, and all eyes were on Celtic and what they could produce in the second half.

While Celtic hadn’t really been troubled all season, teams had stuck with them in the first half a couple of times this season, before the green machine pulled away in the second half, but Hampstead weren’t going to lie down.

At the end of the third stanza Celtic had drawn back within two, and while they did draw even at one point, Hampstead kept their composure and managed to edge ahead again and hold on to the lead until the end, winning it 29-26.

The ACL Premier 2 final was also a tight affair, with Allenton A overcoming a slow start to down Rakaia ProShear 26-21 to claim the ACL Premier 2 title for the second year running.

Rakaia got out to a 7-3 lead by the end of the first quarter, and led 12-10 at half time, but Allenton continued to build and a strong second half saw them take the lead and not look back.

The ACL Premier 3 final was the clearest victory of the night, with AshColl Y10A topping off an awesome unbeaten season by downing Hampstead Ray White C 47-33 to claim that title.

Third spot in ACL Premier 3 went right down to the wire though, with a penalty shot landed by Brans Surridge after the hooter securing Rakaia Seed Cleaning a dramatic 31-30 win over College B, while third spot in ACL Premier 2 went to Celtic Darryl Philips Motor Company B who finished their season off strongly with a 30-26 win over United KFC A.

The third place play off for ACL Premier 1 between Mt Somers Victory Lime A and Methven Wareings was won by Mt Somers, 29-23.

Article added: Friday 25 August 2023