A FEW inches - that is all that denied Eglinton victory on Sunday as it played out a thrilling 4-all Bathurst District Football women's premier league draw against CSU at Proctor Park.
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In a game which featured huge momentum shifts, Eglinton twice had shots thud into the framework in the dying minutes then narrowly missed converting from the spot.
That came after Eglinton had let a 3-0 lead slip then had fought back from 4-3 down to level.
"I think we hit the uprights twice and had a penalty shot just go over the top, so we nearly stole victory right at the very end," Eglinton coach Ian Crook said.
"The penalty shot landed on the net behind, that's how close it went. It cleared the keeper, it was just four inches too high, an inch lower and it hits the crossbar and comes back in."
While naturally disappointed his side was unable to back up its season-opening 7-1 win over Cowra with a victory against CSU - a club which has been a women's premier league heavyweight - Crook still saw positives.
His outfit scoring three times in the first 16 minutes against the students and the performance of "young guns" Tayla Braiser, Tayla Slattery and Eileen Cosgrove were pleasing to the coach.
It shows the side has the potential to once again be a title threat, having gone down to eventual premiers Panorama during extra-time in last season's preliminary final. Eglinton has retained a bulk of that 2018 squad.
"We lost two players, one of them was our goalkeeper, but we've got a new goalkeeper, she had a year off last year but used to play for Macquarie. Then we've had two girls come back in that also had a year off," Crook said.
"We've always had the same basic 11 or 12 and just fluctuate with three or four coming in and going out again."
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With Sunday's match the first for CSU since going down 2-1 in last season's grand final, and its new combinations not having had a chance to develop, it was Eglinton which dictated terms early.
But after the scorching start in which it netted three times, Eglinton dropped its intensity.
CSU had clawed one goal back before the break and from there went on to lead 4-3. Two of its goal came from set piece corner kick plays.
"We went completely to sleep, it wasn't until we were behind that we switched back on. The last 15 minutes we sort of dominated and scored the equaliser," Crook said. "What changed things is when that fourth CSU goal went in. We went from thinking 'We're 3-0 up to geeze, now we're going to get beat'."
It was Kaitlyn Crook who found the equaliser.
In other games Macquarie United posted a 6-2 win over Cowra Eagles, while Panorama FC downed Millthorpe Tigers 8-2.
