Bluetits missed out in their latest game in the East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 against Hinckley Hurricanes (30/09/12). After the first quarter Bluetits were 2 goals down with Hinckley leading 13-11 and this lead was extended after the second quarter to 24-18. Bluetits continued to fight after half time with some excellent interceptions from their defence and superb movement and shooting from their attack. Bluetits’ defenders in particular rose up to the challenge and as the game went on, produced more and more interceptions against Hinckley Hurricanes’ extremely tall attackers. The Player of the match was Hannah Sambrook, who in the last quarter and with Hinckley leading 37-26, gave some strong balls into the shooting circle and created more opportunities for Bluetits to shoot. Her versatility was a key asset to the game as was her strength in both Wing Defence and Wing Attack. The final score was Hinckley 49 - 35 Bluetits.
Pennine faced last year’s East Midlands Regional League Division 1 winners, TFC, today (30/9/12). Having only a squad of eight due to a last-minute illness, it was a real worry when Pennine’s Elisha Cooper injured her ankle within the first two minutes of the game. However, Pennine’s promising start to the game continued up to half time, where they only trailed by two goals (16 – 18).
The injury to Elisha Cooper drastically reduced the options available to the team when they needed to make changes later on in the game though. However, Emma Warren was very strong in Pennine’s defence and helped bring the ball through to the attack, which eased a lot of the pressure. This week it was the turn of Tyler Bexton to really excel in the shooting circle, with 100% accuracy in the first half, and 78% overall. In the end though, it was just not meant to be for Pennine this week. They struggled to keep their fine momentum from the first two quarters going after the half time break, finally losing 22 - 38. On the positive side, Pennine are showing that they have the ability to hold their own in the highest division of the East Midlands Netball Regional League but they are still looking for that first win. Northants JMs’ third match of the 2012-2013 East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 season was against Nottinghamshire’s Leapoole (30/09/12).
JMs knew this was going to be a tough match from the very beginning with the first half of the first quarter going goal-for-goal. In particular, some extremely well-thought-out creative play by Sarah Mitchell demonstrated to the opposition exactly what they were up against. However, a few wayward passes from the team also meant that Leapoole had a five goal advantage at the end of the first period, with 10-15 score line. Player changes were made in the next quarter with Stacey Poole coming on at Wing Defence and Lou Tunnicliff moving to Goal Defence. This helped Northants JMs gain greater control of the game for a little while but it was not long before Leapoole got their rhythm back on track and started to move further ahead. Unfortunately for JMs, a defensive player was also suspended for two goals during this period, which gave Leapoole even more momentum. It affected JMs’ flow within the team as well, culminating in a half time score of 20-34 in Leapoole’s favour. Northants JMs made more changes in the third quarter, with Elisa Hayden taking to the court at Goal Keeper, Poole moving to Wing Attack and Harriet Frost moving to Wing Defence. The changes gave JMs the necessary impetus for a while but Leapoole soon adjusted and their fast, attacking movement meant that they began to move the ball around the JMs players at pace. The third quarter ended with a 29-50 scoreline. The last quarter brought with it an injury to Fay Anderson, and positional changes had to be made for Northants JMs. Chantee Leweis came on at Goal Keeper, Hayden moved to Goal Defence, Tunnicliff moved to Wing Defence and Frost moved to Centre. As the game wore on, tiredness started to play its part and affected JMs’ performance. However, a respectful full time score of 35-64 gave Northants JMs one point for scoring more than half of the score against them. Congratulations go to Sarah Mitchell for her performance and attaining Player of the Match. Nottingham’s Leapoole took on Northamptonshire’s Northants JMs today (30/09/12) in the East Midlands Netball Regional League, Division 1.
Today’s game started slowly and it looked like being a goal-for-goal quarter. However, Leapoole’s centre court managed to turn over a couple of centre passes to win the first quarter, 14-10. In the second quarter, Leapoole came out fighting for the win, with Sarah Thomas and Cat Holding (Player of the Match) carrying on where they had both left off in the first quarter. They fed quick accurate passes into Goal Attack, Jo Hale and Goal Shooter, Rebecca Taylor, which enabled Leapoole to score twice as many goals as the Northants JMs’ opposition. Northants JMs also had a player suspended for two goals during this period, which helped Leapoole further capitalise on their opportunities. At the end of the second quarter, Leapoole led 34-20. The third quarter saw Leapoole’s Wing Defence, Leonie Smikle, Goal Defence, Kat Lewis and Goal Keeper, Kate Fairhurst, restrict Northants JMs’ attack to just nine goals, while Leapoole’s attack replied with seventeen. They finished the third quarter 51-29 ahead. Player of the Match, Cat Holding, was rested in the final quarter but her teammates continued to stay strong and organised, which enabled them to increase their lead. Leapoole eventually won the game 64-35. Overally, a great performance by Leapoole Storm. Lincoln City 1 went into Sunday’s game hoping to get the most out of Laura Bartle’s fine start to the season in the East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 game against Nottingham City. Laura has been voted the best player by her team for two weeks running but unfortunately Lincoln City 1 were unable to capitalise on her efforts, losing by 8 goals to local rivals, Nottingham City.
Lincoln City 1 began with a similar line up to their previous week’s game (with the exception of Emily Coulter, who is now a student at Cambridge). Gemma Carter moved to centre, allowing Katherine Sturton to regain her spot at Wing Attack. It was a tense 15 minutes in the first quarter, with many tips and interceptions made by the defence of Laura and Lucy Heathershaw, resulting in a 7-7 score line. However, the second quarter was the key turning point in the match. Lincoln City 1 did not convert all of their shooting opportunities, which left them trailing by a six-goal deficit at half time. The quarter ended 20-14 to Nottingham City. The third quarter saw Lincoln City 1’s fight-back as they won the quarter 11-10. Amy Womersley came on as Goal Shooter and provided an alternative outlet in the attacking third. The quarter ended with Nottingham City leading 30-25, meaning Lincoln City 1 needed just five more goals to equalise. In the fourth and final quarter, Lincoln City 1 switched Beth Richardson and Laura to Goal Defence and Wing Defence, respectively. The team took an early two-goal lead in an attempt to chase down that five-goal deficit but in the end were unable to take the quarter, losing it 8-11. The final score ended Nottingham City 41-33 Lincoln City 1. Player of the Match once again went to Laura Bartle. Laura’s great ability to read the game well meant that she made vital tips and interceptions throughout the match. Hinckley Hurricanes' Regional netball team continued their winning streak on Sunday (30/09/12) against their old nemesis, Leicestershire’s Bluetits. This game always promises to be a well-fought encounter and it did not disappoint.
Bluetits started well, netting the first few goals. However, Hurricanes soon found their stride and mounted their own reply. At the end of the first quarter, the game was pitched at 13 - 11 to Hurricanes, with Bluetits searching to close the gap before half time. However, despite some unforced errors, Hurricanes held their nerve and managed to stretch their lead as each quarter went by. Going into the fourth quarter, Hinckley Hurricanes held a 37 - 26 lead. Bluetits mounted a strong comeback and unsettled Hurricanes’ nerves but the team managed to pull together and increase their winning margin to a 49-35 victory. Hurricanes voted the Goal Keeper, Louise Champion as their ‘Player of the Match’, although the votes were close, which was not surprising, given the superb centre court displays from Karen Lowdon, Charlotte Taylor and Katie Pallett. Onto the next game: Sunday 7th October, 09.30 vs. Leapoole Netball Club at Loughborough University’s Netball Centre. Pennine lost its latest East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 game against Leapoole on 23 September at Loughborough University by just three goals.The match was a very close contest throughout and the Derby team were unlucky to lose 39-42 at the final whistle.
Pennine won the first quarter 12-11, yet despite this strong start to the game, they struggled in the second quarter, losing it 6-13. With a half time deficit of 6 goals (18-24), Pennine really had to work hard to get back in the game after the restart. However, with some great play all over the court, they won the third quarter 12-11 and the fourth 9-7. Unfortunately this wasn't quite enough to claim victory this time and the match finished 39-42 in Leapoole's favour. Jo Ball was voted Pennine’s player of the match for her fine shooting display and converting 100% of her shots in the first quarter. TFC's second game of the season in the East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 was against newly promoted Northants JMs. This meant that TFC's opposition were a bit of an unknown quantity for last year's Regional League Division 1 winners. There were slight changes to the starting line up this week, with Georgina Kate at Centre and Abigail Wilcockson returning from injury at Goal Attack. The defence started with Vicky Crosby at Goal Keeper, Mel Croxall at Goal Defence and Georgia Swan at Wing Defence. Kirsten Gibson (Wing Attack) and Sara Bostock (Goal Shooter) made up the rest of the attack.
TFC got off to a great start, scoring 8 straight unanswered goals. This lured TFC into a false sense of security though and Nothants JMs were allowed back into the game. They finished well to close the gap slightly, with the score 16 - 10 in TFC's favour at quarter time. After some advice and guidance from coach Kate Chambers and some reflections on how the game was developing at different parts of the court, TFC were able to pile on more attacking pressure, whilst maintaining a more effective defensive game to increase the margin by 15 goals. TFC led 34-19 at half time. The third quarter saw coach Kate make some changes to the TFC line up with Rachel Richardson coming on at Wing Defence and Amy Brennan going to Wing Attack. Georgia Swan moved to Goal Defence, Mel Croxall to Goal Keeper and Kirsten Gibson moved to Centre. Nothants JMs also made some changes, which proved too much for TFC as they lost quarter 7 - 11, closing the overall margin, with a combined scoreline of 41 - 30. TFC made some final changes for the last quarter, returning the attack back to its original format, which enabled TFC to pull away from Northants JMs again. In the end, TFC's tireless defence and fluidity in attack, ensured they won their second game of the East Midlands Regional League Division 1 campaign, 53-36. Georgia Swan was named "Player of the Match" by coach Kate Chambers for her skill and ability throughout the entire game. Georgia was very solid at Wing Defence but her move to Goal Defence was truly inspirational as she intercepted a range of passes and stopped those all-important goals from Northants JMs, to give TFC their second victory of the season. Well played ladies! Division 1
Sunday (23/09/12) saw newly-promoted Northants JMs 2nd game of the season in the East Midlands Regional League Division 1. The squad fielded just seven players - enough to cover every position - so hard work was needed by all to compete in this match. The first few minutes saw TFC score eight unanswered goals. However with real guts and determination, Northants JMs' players rallied to make the quarter score a credible 10-16 in TFC's favour. JMs were positive going into the second quarter but much more fluency and a stronger defensive display from TFC meant that JMs struggled with their passing in the attacking third. JMs increasingly struggled to retain possession of the ball, which resulted in a 19-34 deficit after the first half. The third quarter brought positional changes for JMs players as they looked for inspiration on court. The moves proved highly successful with JMs winning the quarter 11-7, meaning they were only nine goals behind (combined score 30-41). However, with no fresh legs to keep the momentum going in the fourth quarter, it was almost inevitable that JMs' players would tire. TFC won the match with a final scoreline of 36-53. However, credible performances throughout most of the game and especially from a very determined JMs' Player of the Match, Chantee Lewis, means that Northants have every reason to be optimistic in this new division. Hinckley Hurricanes' season heated up on Sunday morning (23/09/12) with their first win of the season against Lincoln City 1. Judging by previous seasons' results, the game promised to be a close encounter and full of excitement and nervous moments.
From a neutral's perspective, the game did not disappoint. Hurricanes started well and netted the first 3 goals but Lincoln City 1 soon stepped up their own game, scoring in quick succession to take the lead. It was a lead they held onto as the umpire's whistle blew for the first quarter (12 - 14). Instead of being disheartened, Hurricanes maintained their composure during the interval, especially as team manager, Louise Kepner gave some swift, yet simple team tactics for the team to take into the second quarter. It meant that Stephanie Dunn had her work cut out at Goal Attack but she soon proved that she was up to the task. Stephanie continuously managed to get the better of the Lincoln City 1 defence, therefore creating space for Goal Shooter, Laura Matkin, to do what she does best. Hurricanes' efforts meant that the first half concluded with a well-deserved 27-21 lead. The ladies knew that they would have to dig deep to maintain the score line though but this is exactly what they did. Hurricanes posted their best quarter score of the game 16 - 4 to see the three-quarter time poised at 43-25. Lincoln City 1 fought back in the final quarter and tested Hurricanes' nerve. Not surprisingly, Hurricane's earlier exertions meant that the team had begun to tire and subsequently, a few errors crept into their game. However, the defensive experience of Hinckley's Debbie Skene shone through to help settle both the players' and the bench's nerves. Debbie continued to rally the troops up until the final whistle, ensuring the game ended 55 - 36 in Hurricane's favour. All-in-all, a well-fought game from both sides. Hurricanes voted Katie Pallet, who was playing her first game of the season. as their player of the match. As quoted by club Chairwoman, Stephanie Dunn "...her work rate from the centre passes to the circle edge was salubrious..." Congratulations should go to the whole squad as the victory really was a team effort. Onto the next game: Sunday 30 September, 9.30am versus Bluetits at the Loughborough University Netball Centre. |
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