It went right down to the wire for Rochester’s A-grade netball side in round 14 against Shepparton Bears.
The Tigers were in search of a third win in a row and their fourth in five games when they hosted the Bears at Rochester Recreation Reserve, but a late comeback saw them fall two goals short.
The game started with Shepparton grabbing the early ascendancy but Rochy quickly turned things around, taking the lead by the midpoint of the term and holding a 15-13 lead at the first break.
The second quarter went the way of the Bears, with several crucial runs giving Shepparton a five-goal lead at half-time.
The teams were evenly matched in the third but Shepparton continued to hold a slight edge over the Tigers.
Although Rochy traded goals with the Bears for most of the quarter, Shepparton seized on a couple of extra opportunities to extend its lead to nine with 15 minutes to play.
Rochester set about eating into the lead in the fourth quarter and closed to within two with just under five minutes to play.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, Shepparton was able to muster the resolve to stem the Rochy tide and match the host shot for shot in the final minutes, escaping 62-60.
Rochy goalers Tia Webb (24 goals) and Teal Hocking (35 goals) continued their fine form, sharing the scoring load for the Tigers, while the Bears relied on Kimberly Borger (45 goals) for the majority of their production.
After a recent purple patch brought on by the return of key players from injury, Rochester (5-9) was hoping to make an unlikely run towards the finals.
This result sees the Tigers three games adrift of sixth with four to play, and Rochy will need to defeat Tatura (9-4-1) next weekend to keep its faint top-six hopes alive.