The much anticipated Lincolnshire derby between Lincoln City and Sleaford Barge proved an eventful game with the Imps ultimately managing to secure a solid victory over their rivals.
Three shooters down before the match had begun, Lincoln City found their usually long and versatile team bench severely depleted. Captain and regular WA Laura Forsey stepped up, ready to return to her former shooting glory alongside usual GS Anna Gilbert. This week (20/10/13) Southgate faced Leicestershire’s Grasshoppers in the East Midlands Netball Regional League, Division 2 fixture. With both teams tied on points in the league standings it was important for Southgate to settle into their first quarter, especially with a new starting line-up and some different combinations.
These changes did not hold Southgate back. Newbies Sarah Guy and Kay Sparkes took to the court, making an impact in attack and defence. Meanwhile, Goal Shooter Nina Warren made 86% of her shots and Goal Attack Sarah Bottomley converted 77% of her shots across the whole 60 minutes. At times, it looked like the Derbyshire team were playing different sports: Olivia Murphy was particularly innovative in her play, producing an aerial volley into the circle; Louise Shaw batted the ball as she made an impressive interception and Sarah Bottomley showcased a peculiar badminton smash-shot in an attempt to win possession! Overall it was another fantastic win for Southgate – the new players fitted in perfectly and the different combinations worked well. Final score: Southgate 84 -12 Grasshopper NC. Kay Sparkes received this week’s “Player of the Match” by Grasshoppers – a sign of good things to come! Falcons Black hosted north-east side Grangetown in this week’s England Netball Premier League Division 2 game. It was expected to be a physical battle and Grangetown had got a few decent results under their belt so the home team knew they'd have to give everything to get their first win of the season.
A slightly depleted squad saw some of Falcons Black’s youngsters make the starting line-up and they showed some glimpses of their potential throughout the game. Their efforts were complemented by some outstanding defensive work from Issy Beighton and Nic Caunt, who applied pressure on the away team from the first whistle right up until the last.
Leicestershire’s Grasshoppers took on Lincolnshire’s Brigg in this weekend’s East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 2 game.
Brigg had the first centre pass and through some strong play, turned over a couple of Grasshoppers' centre passes early on. The Leicestershire team were struggling to find any rhythm and they missed several important goal attempts. At the end of the first quarter, Brigg led 12-9. Lincoln City were hoping to continue their winning ways as they prepared to face Derbyshire, Iceni on Sunday 6th August. Iceni have been tough opponents in the past and with three Lincoln players unavailable, it could have gone either way.
There were two changes to the side that thrashed TFC Too last week, with Anna Gilbert and Becky Baker making up the GS and GA partnership and Jade Houlton starting alongside Lucy Heathershaw in defence. Although Iceni started well, Lincoln were able to capitalise on the away team’s errors. This, coupled with a strong shooting combination and excellent support from Beth Richardson, allowed Lincoln to end the first quarter with an eight goal lead (17-9). Following their defeat against Nottingham City Aces, Falcons Yellow notch up their first win against Leapoole in another tough battle.
The away team welcomed back Tamsin Mason and Alex Wood-Davis, who first played for the club when she was 16 years old. Falcons Yellow took time to gel during the first quarter but worked hard and went in at the break drawing on 11 goals each.
Iceni produced a good, all-round performance in their first game of the East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 2 season. Both great shooting and strong defence were on display but it was not enough to beat the newly-qualified Regional League team, Southgate, who won the game by 50 goals to 23.
Despite Iceni doing well in the first quarter, Southgate picked up the pace in the second and third quarters, demonstrating that they are on track to have a very good season. Iceni did manage to claw back the score line a little bit in the last quarter but in the end it was not enough. laina Richardson, who had a strong game in centre court, was nominated as Iceni’s ‘Player of the Match’. |