NEWTOWN & Chilwell coach Jacob Spolding said one quarter of football put an end to his side's finals campaign yesterday.
The Eagles led by 11 points at quarter-time and nine at the main break, before Bell Park broke the game open with a nine-goal third quarter that proved the decisive blow.
"I thought our first quarter was fantastic, we just didn't get the score on the board," a visibly shattered Spolding said. "It was just one quarter that let us down today and from that you can lose a game of footy.
"I thought we controlled the game, in the first half in particular. We had 12 (scoring) shots in the first quarter and 4.8 was the result. If we had kicked straighter it gives you confidence."
It's the third consecutive year that the Eagles have bowed out in the semi-finals, but Spolding refused to concede it was a mental factor that saw his side again miss a preliminary final berth.
"That's three years in a row now that we have been able to get to this weekend and we haven't been able to get past it," he said.
"In the first half we showed we can play and showed we deserved to be here at this stage of the year and we just need to keep working at it.
"Hopefully we can come back and go a couple of steps better next year and that's the challenge."
Last Modified on 20/11/2013 20:36