It was a tough slog, but Adelaide ultimately got the job done against St Kilda, winning by four points in a contested battle at Norwood Oval on Friday.
From the outset, the Crows were after redemption after their Round Five loss to Brisbane, which was snatched away by a last-minute Lions goal, but the Saints were up for the fight.
Despite dominating for most of the game, the Crows were unable to fully close the door on the Saints, leaving this visitors within striking range right until the final siren of the 3.8 (26) to 3.4 (22) contest.
Both sides brought the pressure early, with the tension broken by Saint Molly McDonald scoring the first goal of the match four minutes in.
It didn’t take long for Adelaide’s Hannah Munyard to respond, arching her back to evade a St Kilda pursuit along the boundary before sending the ball superbly through the goalposts.
After missing the big sticks twice in the first term, Caitlin Gould broke an early stalemate in the second term with a goal while being chased by a flock of Saints.
After leaving the field clutching her side early in the third quarter, St Kilda’s J'Noemi Anderson returned to the field with aplomb minutes later, bobbing up to kick a late goal to break an otherwise scrappy and scoreless term. But Adelaide’s Chelsea Randall was not having any piece of it, scoring a goal in response only 90 seconds later, right on the three-quarter time siren.
The Saints closed the gap to just four points in the final quarter, with a goal to Hannah Stuart, but were unable to break through for another by the time the final siren sounded.
Both sides showed signs of fatigue as the game wore on, a worrying sign as they face three more matches in the next 16 days, with their respective mid-week footy fixtures.
SCOREBOARD
ADELAIDE 1.2 2.4 3.4 3.8 (26)
ST KILDA 1.1 1.3 2.4 3.4 (22)
GOALS
Adelaide: Munyard, Gould, Randall
St Kilda: McDonald, Anderson, Stuart
BEST
Adelaide: Marinoff, Hatchard, Munyard, Randall, Gould
St Kilda: Smith, Kelly, Lambert, Vesely, McDonald
INJURIES
Adelaide: Ballard (knee), Mueller (migraine)
St Kilda: Nil
