2012 Ede Clendinnen Shield: Matthew Gillie, Leesa Grundy take Tasmania to new heights
Mixed Doubles campaigners Matthew Gillie and Leesa Grundy of Tasmania played their role to perfection and ensured their team’s victory over The Territories in Ede Clendinnen Shield Sydney on August 28, 2012.
They took 33 minutes to overpower the twosome of Anthony Joe and Jacinta Joe with concluding margin of 21-17, 25-27 and 21-10.
However, it was not an easy road for them as they had to face strong resistance throughout this three-set tussle.
The Territories’ shuttlers earned a great deal of admiration for their commendable fighting spirit which they showed despite remaining down in most part of the match.
In the opening game, Anthony and Jacinta took off in perfect manner but they could not go with the same flow and crashed in crucial moments of the set.
They gathered few valuable points at steady pace in the beginning but then couple of unforced errors triggered the collapse and they could not rise until game point situation.
Meanwhile, Matthew and Leesa relished full benefits of their opponents’ blunder and established strong grip before the announcement of one-minute break.
They did not lose focus even after the interval and blew their rivals away with a staggering knock of 21-17.
This development added more thrill into the contest and both contenders made the crowd gasp with a breath-taking performance in the following set. They made every effort to achieve their respective goals.
The twosome of Matthew-Leesa was looking to transform their 1-0 lead into a straight-set victory while the opposing team was striving to stay alive in the contest.
In the first half, Anthony and Jacinta looked a bit confused as they dropped many valuable points just because the lack of coordination.
However, they did not remain at the lower end permanently and managed to rise on their toes in later part of the game.
They started making progress with a few back-to-back rallies and then maintained this momentum to read favourable figure of 27-25.
This revised match score position made the decider consequential as now both teams were equal with one win each.
Though, the third set was expected to be a nerve-racking segment but Matthew-Leesa made this a one-sided affair. They played with an authoritative approach and placed a convincing margin of 21-10.
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