Highfields win seven goal thriller

Highfields beat traditional Toowoomba powerhouse Rockville in seven goal thriller

Rockville's Dawn Holden takes possession of the ball during last year's Toowoomba Football League Premier Women's grand final. Holden captained Rockville in their loss to Highfields at the weekend. Picture: Kevin Farmer

FOOTBALL: A new focus on "developing football IQ” is paying dividends for the Highfields women's side.

Sitting second on the Toowoomba Football League Premier Women's ladder, Highfields secured a massive result at the weekend beating Rockville 4-3.

Samantha Stubbs drew first blood for Rockville in the Sunday game, but Highfields coach Lachlan Peden said his side was able to stick with last year's beaten grand finalist in a see-saw first half.

"They scored pretty early but we stuck with them,” he said.

"It was a real ding-dong first half with both sides going back and forth before it finished 3-3 at half-time.

"We got the winner in the second, and I was pretty happy with it because it's the type of thing we've talked about regularly.”

Highfields scored their winner almost directly from goal-kick after the side positioned their forwards in the best play to take advantage of a big clearing kick.

"One of the things I've focused on is helping the players develop their football IQ,” Peden said. "It's about knowing and understanding the game, helping them (the players) read the game better.

"In this case the girls knew you can't be offside from a goal kick so they pushed up field a bit more and made the most of the opportunity.”

Peden said his team also had a plan heading into the game.

"They're a really good team, very composed and organised,” he said. "And they did outplay us in parts of the match.

"We played them in pre-season so we had a little idea of how they set up so for us it was a matter of focusing on our strengths and trying to make our plan work.

"Our next big test is against Willowburn but we're also looking forward to that next Rockville game - it will be interesting.”

Originally published as Highfields win seven goal thriller