On the 10th February, Falcons Black Netball Club played Grangetown in the Premier League division 2. After a loss to the team earlier in the season, Falcons Black were determined to set the record straight this time around.
The Falcons Black starting line up from GS to GK was Charlotte Roye, Christie Simpson, Hannah Joseph, Katie Flaherty, Dom McKee, Kaylea McQuade and Lauren Steadman. Lincoln City 2 (the Imps) has not had the best season. After injury, illness and loaning players, they have only won two games this season. But today they had another opportunity to get their season back on track against Leicestershire’s Charnwood Sapphires.
With goal keeper Lizzie Saywell absent due to illness and Victoria Adams’ recent call up to the first team, Lincoln City 2 were left with only one defender. Out of position, Megan Samways stepped in at Goal Defence (GD) to provide strong support and under 16s superstar, Carla Baker started at Wing Defence (WD). With all the reshuffling it was inevitable Lincoln City 2 would take a while to get going so they lost the first quarter, 12-8. The formation remained the same for the second quarter but the Imps continually struggled to get the ball out of defence as Charnwood Sapphires extended their lead to 26-16. In the third quarter Lincoln City 2 introduced some changes. Laura Forsey fought hard at Centre (C) and Sophie Reed played well at Goal Attack (GA). Charlotte Bayes moved from Wing Attack (WA) to Wing Defence (WD) and in doing so, created space and an option to pass to. The score at the end of the quarter was 25-40 to Charnwood Sapphire. The Imps made further changes for the final quarter. Carla was brought back on at Goal Keeper (GK) and Megan moved to Wing Defence (WD). She made an excellent save from Charnwood’s first centre pass but Lincoln 2 were unable to capitalise on a great start and lost the quarter by 12 goals. The final score was 30-57 in Charnwood Sapphire’s favour. The Imps thought that Charnwood Sapphire’s Goal Shooter (GS) was fantastic today whilst the opposition awarded the Imps’ Zoe Cooper as their ‘Player of the Match’ for her efforts in the centre court as Centre (C) and Wing Attack (WA). Lincoln City 1s took on Bluetits in today’s East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 match with Victoria Adams making her first start as an official first team player at Goal Defence (GD) alongside Lucy Heathershaw. Lincoln 1 started slowly though and struggled to get the ball into the attacking semi-circle and lost the first quarter 5-16.
In the second quarter, Lincoln City 1’s defence was much tighter with Vic and Lucy continuing to make tips, rebounds and interceptions between them. The quarter finished with Bluetits up 17-32. In the third quarter the defence began to force errors from the Bluetits attack. Katherine Sturton and Gemma Carter switched positions in the centre court with Gemma using the court well, creating space and feeding dangerously into the attack. Lincoln 1 had improved again during this period but lost the quarter by 5 goals, trailing 28-46 as the fourth quarter approached. In the final quarter Lincoln City 1 narrowed the gap. Lucy and Vic switched in defence, turning over Bluetit’s centre twice in a row. Katherine made a great interception and Anna’s shooting was fantastic as the attack worked well together. Lincoln City 1 won the last quarter 16-11, but the damage had already been done. The final score was 44-57. Bluetits awarded Captain Gemma Carter as their Player of the Match. Gemma played well at both Centre (C) and Wing Attack (WA), created options for her team and showed experience when passing into attack. This week, Grasshopper Netball Club came up against East Midlands Netball Regional League Division Two rivals Brigg and District Netball Club. The first quarter began with both teams scoring consistently from their centre passes, but a Brigg and District turnover from a Grasshopper’s centre allowed them to sneak ahead and take the first quarter 11-15.
Coach Anne Melling made some changes in the second quarter; Beth Smith came on as Goal Shooter (GS), Karmen Askew came on as Wing Attack (WA), Laura Harbour moved from Goal Defence (GD) to Wing Defence (WD), Stephanie Hiom moved from Goal Keeper (GK) to Goal Defence (GD) and Kate Garner came on as Goal Keeper (GK), with Andy Flewitt, Clare Fielding and Sarah Melling leaving the court. As a result, Grasshopper had a superb second quarter, with Garner and Hiom combining well in defence, and the whole team turning over a couple of Brigg and District centres to take the lead. Grasshopper took the second quarter 15-10. Having completed the comeback, they now led 26-25! The same line up took to the court for the third quarter as Grasshopper maintained their dominance, winning the third by 11 goals to 9. The scores sat at a close 37-34 moving into the final quarter. At the break, coach Melling made further changes, bringing off Garner and moving Hiom to Goal Keeper (GK), moving Harbour across to Goal Defence (GD), and bringing back Melling at Wing Defence (WD). Unfortunately though, it was not enough to sustain the Grasshopper ascendancy and Brigg and District began to take a strong lead in the final quarter. Grasshopper started to mount yet another last gasp comeback, but time was against them and they lost the quarter 14-19. The final score finished 51-53 to Brigg and District. In spite of losing in the nail biting finale, it was by far Grasshopper’s best match of the season. Player of the match was awarded to Goal Attack (GA) Donna Osborn. Hinckley Hurricanes took their recent successes in the Loughborough Town League and Cup competitions into their East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 fixture against Nottingham City. Following the 33-50 defeat in the pair's earlier encounter in the season, Hurricanes were poised for revenge.
The game did not start the way Hurricanes would have liked though and they were soon behind by 2 goals. However, the players began to find their feet and brought the score back level before edging ahead for the first time. Smooth transitions of the ball through the mid court by Sarah Beaty, Charlotte Taylor, Carly Walton and Debbie Skene then set up more Hurricane attacks, which were aided by Katie Pallett’s and Karen Lowdon’s accurate and well-timed feeds into Laura Matkins at Goal Shooter (GS). The team effort enabled Hurricanes to keep hold of the lead into quarter time at 13-10. The first quarter performance inspired the Hurricanes players and the team never looked back. Nottingham City tried to sneak back into the match at times but the Leicestershire team finished all remaining quarters ahead (21-20, 34-30, 45-38) and in the end tried to pull further away with the final whistle looming. Final Score: Hinckley Hurricanes 45-38 Nottingham City Sarah Beaty was voted as Player of the Match for her performance at Wing Defence (WD). She hassled her opponent tirelessly throughout the match, whilst also creating a quick outlet out of defence. It was an early birthday present for the baby of the team, who celebrates her 21st birthday this week. Also worthy of a mention is Hurricanes' Chairwoman, Stephanie Dunn, who on Saturday became Mrs Stephanie Cheney at St Catherine's Church in Burbage, accompanied by many from the club. Congratulations Steph! Going into 2013, Falcons Black were sitting ninth in the league and at risk of being in the play offs against a team from the division below or even worse, outright relegation to Prem 3. Therefore the players and management went into this Sunday’s game looking for a win or at the very least some points to build on for the remainder of the season (13/01/13).
The first game of the new year was against fourth-placed Linden (a West Midlands-based team) and so Falcons Black knew it was going to be a tough game. However, the East Midlands team also had a greater belief in themselves than at the beginning of the season and were looking for a good start to the game. The first quarter was played at a fast pace and Falcons Black worked hard to turn the ball although they struggled to capitalise on their successful turn overs. At the defensive end of the court, Goal Keeper (GK) Jade Forbes-Whatley linked well with Dominique McKee who was playing out of position at Goal Defence (GD) and between them, the pair created at least five turn overs during the first fifteen minutes. Despite this Falcons Black finished the first quarter five goals down (7-12). Unlike with other bad starts to games from earlier in the season, Falcons Black knew that this was a score they could pull back and the team remained the same for the second quarter. Quarter 2 saw more of the same fast-paced netball, however this time Falcon Black’s attack really took control and punished any mistakes made by Linden. Katie Flaherty (Wing Attack, WA) and Kaylea McQuade (Centre, C) remained calm and safely delivered the ball to their shooters. Linden’s Goal Defence (GD) Lauren Massey (who also plays for the Loughborough Lightning franchise team), upped the pressure in the circle and created several turn overs for the away team. The fifteen minutes were played out with the ball continuously travelling up and down the court and it really was a test of patience and correct decision making that allowed Falcons Black to edge the quarter 11-9 and go in at half time with the score finely poised at 18-21. Linden made some changes in the 3rd quarter including bringing on some fresh legs at Goal Attack (GA) and moving their Wing Defence (WD) to Centre (C). Falcons Black needed a few minutes to adjust to these changes and to get into the quarter but the players took the lessons they had learnt from the first fifteen minutes and began to play sensible netball. The team worked the ball down to the shooters, Christie Simpson (Goal Attack, GA) and Charlotte Roye (Goal Shooter, GS), who both maintained their high shooting percentages despite being put under huge amounts of pressure by the Linden Defence. After what felt like an incredibly long quarter the Falcons Black players had done themselves proud, scoring the most number of goals per quarter in the game so far to win it 12-10 and now only trail by one (30-31). Falcons Black made some changes for the last quarter by bringing on Eleanor Durcan at Wing Attack (WA) and moving Katie Flaherty to Centre (C), with player-coach Kaylea McQuade dropping to the bench. The last 15 minutes were always going to be the toughest for the East Midlands team, both physically and mentally but the players started fantastically well, going up 5-0 in the first few minutes. Sofija Djukic worked tirelessly around the circle to add even more pressure to Linden’s Masego Motaung (another Loughborough Lightning player). Both teams went through playing patches of brilliant netball and then through making unnecessary mistakes but the Falcons Black players managed to sneak ahead by one goal with just 30 seconds to go. Linden came back though and scored with 20 seconds left on the clock. The game could have been anybody’s but as it turned out that was the last goal scored. The final whistle blew with the scores matched at Falcons Black 37-37 Linden. After losing the first quarter by five goals the Falcons Black players had done exceptionally well to bring it back and remain in the game against one of the division’s high-flying teams. The team will next travel to bottom-of-the-table Kent, looking to push on from today’s successes. Sunday saw the return leg of Leicestershire’s Grasshopper NC (GNC) versus Lincoln City 2 (the Imps). GNC fielded a strong team and some good interactive play between Centre (C) Selina Jones and Wing Attack (WA) Karmen Askew saw them hold Lincoln City 2 until the final minutes of the first quarter, where the Imps crept into a 10-13 lead. Grasshopper NC’s coach, Anne Melling, made three changes for the second quarter, bringing on Claire Fielding, Kate Garner and newcomer Laura Barby for Karmen Askew, Steph Hiom and young Goal Shooter (GS), Beth Smith. A tightly-fought quarter ensued with GNC coming out 8-6 on top, bringing the score back to 18-19 in Imps’ favour.
At the end of the third quarter, the Lincolnshire team led – but only by 2 goals at 26-28.
The final quarter saw a very spirited effort from Grasshopper NC. The team had trailed throughout the match so far but they never gave up. Some good, hard netball was played by all and it was end to end drama. However, a couple of late goals by the Leicestershire team in the final throes of the match saw Grasshopper NC claim a well-deserved draw, with the score at 39-39. Grasshopper NC’s Player of the Match went to Centre (C) Selina Jones. Falcons Yellow entered 2013 having not lost a match in the East Midlands Netball Regional League Division II and were hoping to start 2013 with a celebratory win. On paper, Falcons Yellow would have been expected to take control of this match, especially after winning the last meeting between the two teams earlier in the season.
Falcons Yellow put out a reasonably strong and experienced side against a young Sleaford Barge team and the Derbyshire-based club started the game in fine form, turning over Sleaford Barge’s first centre pass. Unfortunately for Falcons Yellow, the team failed to convert their chance and this allowed Sleaford Barge to settle and take an early lead. The Lincolnshire team’s shooting was accurate and this soon left Falcons Yellow 3 goals down. Falcons Yellow then rolled their sleeves up and pulled the deficit back to one goal but unfortunately they couldn’t capitalise on any further turnovers during the quarter because of a solid Sleaford Barge defence. Falcons Yellow’s defence were also on the top of their game but this didn’t stop Sleaford Barge increasing their lead, edging their noses in front 6-10 after the first fifteen minutes. The second quarter was a different affair. Falcons Yellow made some changes in attack with Rebecca Sims coming on at Wing Attack (WA) and Weller Howard replacing Sarah Bottomley at Goal Attack (GA). Even though it was a new combination the shooters settled well and gave Sleaford Barge something to think about. Falcons Yellow’s defence was again solid at the back with Samantha Brown (Goal Defence, GD), Lynsey Cover (Wing Defence, WD) and Liz Stevenson (Goal Keeper, GK) unsettling the Sleaford attack. This time Falcon Yellow’s turnovers resulted in goals for the team, which were no doubt aided by some great attacking play and feeds into the shooters by Rebecca Sims (Wing Attack, WA) and Laura Owen (Centre, C). Howard and Rolling worked well together too and converted their shots with ease. Falcons Yellow won the quarter 12-8 and went into the half time break with the overall scores even at 18-18. However, they still felt that the score line did not reflect all of the hard work they had put in. The team made another change for the third quarter by replacing Owen with Melanie Brenan at Centre (C). Falcons Yellow tried in vain to improve on their second quarter performance but were thwarted by Sleaford Barge, who were pressing hard. Both sides made unforced errors but in the end, the Lincolnshire team converted enough of their chances to win the quarter 6-7 and go into the final fifteen minutes with their noses in front once again, leading 24-25 overall. The final quarter saw Bottomley come on at Goal Shooter (GS) to replace Rolling. Once again it was a tight affair with Falcons Yellow pushing Sleaford Barge all the way. Falcons Yellow’s attack worked hard throughout but the team were still unable to convert their chances and this allowed Sleaford Barge to increase their advantage to 4 goals. It could have been more had it not been for Falcons Yellow’s defence which was outstanding, especially Stevenson’s and Cover’s performances. Falcons Yellow refused to give up and managed to close the gap to within one goal, however, they just could not get over the finishing line and in the end lost out to a disciplined Sleaford Barge team who widened the overall score line to two goals by winning the quarter 7-8. The final score was Falcons Yellow 31 – Sleaford Barge 33. Weller Howard had a great game, as did Melanie Brenan who worked very hard and produced some wonderful feeds throughout the second half but in the end the accolades have to go to Stevenson and Cover who jointly received the ‘Player of the Match’. Falcons Yellow will still retain top spot but now they have dusted off the cobwebs they will have to work hard and remain focused next week and be ready to do battle in what will be another tough match. Squad – Charlotte Rolling (GS), Sarah Bottomley (GA/GS), Weller Howard (WA/GA), Laura Owen (C), Lynsey Cover (WD), Samantha Brown (GD), Liz Stevenson (GK), Subs -Melanie Brenan (C), Rebecca Sims (WA). Pennine needed to win today’s East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 match (13/01/13) against Lincoln City 1 in order to boost their chances of staying in the top division.
Pennine started the game well by taking a 3-goal lead at the end of the first quarter. This was extended to 5 goals by half time because of some excellent attacking play all down court and Tyler Bexton’s accuracy in the shooting circle, which earned her the accolade of Pennine’s Player of the Match. Lincoln City 1 began to fight back during the third quarter though and with a little help from Pennine’s unforced errors, had taken the lead with just three minutes remaining on the clock in the final quarter. Pennine’s Kay Sparkes then made a couple of timely interceptions, which helped her team’s attack regain some composure. The Derby-based team took the lead once more and this time it was not relinquished. The final score in what turned out to be a very tense game was: Pennine 37 – 35 Lincoln City 1 Falcons Black travelled to Norwich this week to play Thoroughbreds in the England Netball Premier League Division 2 game (16/12/12).
The game took some time to get going, with both the Falcons Black’s and Thoroughbreds’ defences producing a number of turnovers in the early stages. However, it was the home team that opened up the scoring after two minutes of play, which ironically seemed to settle both sides. The game then opened up and some fast through court play followed, with Falcons Black matching Thoroughbreds goal-for-goal. Further defensive pressure by Falcons Black then forced Thoroughbreds to fumble the ball off the back line, which resulted in the away team converting and finish the first quarter one goal up (11-12). Unlike the first period, both teams started the second quarter with patient attacking play, which made it difficult for each side’s defenders to turn over balls. Falcons Black’s Kaylea McQuade (Centre, C) and Katie Flaherty (Wing Attack, WA) were working well around the edge of the attacking circle and providing a number of great feeds to shooters, Christie Simpson and Charlotte Roye. The second quarter ended even at 27-27. Changes were made at half time with Sofija Djukic coming on at Centre (C). The third quarter started in a scrappy manner again as both defences were on top once more, each working tirelessly to turn over whatever they could. In particular, the defensive pressure from Falcons Black’s Dominique McKee (Wing Defence, WD), Lauren Steadman (Goal Defence) and Issy Beighton (Goal Keeper, GK) forced Thoroughbred’s attack into make a number of errors but unfortunately for the away team, they were unable to capitalise on the openings and finished the quarter two goals down (41-39). Thoroughbreds came out firing for the final fifteen minutes, which saw them score the first four goals of the quarter. Falcons Black were slow to respond though and even went a further five goals down. The away team now had a mighty battle on their hands and although they managed to compete for the rest of the quarter, they could not recover from their earlier blow. The final score was 62-52. It is a score line, which didn’t reflect the game, nor did it reflect Falcons Black’s great performance. The team had held their own for most of the match against one of the best sides in the league. The defence had worked well as a unit, whilst the attack had created a number of options, with both shooters on top scoring form. |
Filter
All
Select the competitions above to filter the match reports
Archives
April 2013
|