Katie Shines as Falcons come away Empty Handed

Starting 7
GK – Iman Thomas
GD –Jemma King
WD – Francesca Desmond
C – Katie Flaherty
WA – Jessica Smith
GA – Olivia Mason (Captain)
GS – Helen Hancock

Coaches
Head Coach – Kaylea McQuade
Assistant Coach/Team Manager – Donna Swann

Quarter 1
It was an early start for the Falcons Black players who set out for the Olympic stadium for their match against Leyton. Olivia (Captain) led a strong warm up to motivate and prepare the players and it took just a few minutes for Falcons to settle and relax into the game. Although Leyton had tall shooters, Falcons Black’s defence was able to apply constant pressure and this was rewarded with them turning over the ball on a number of occasions. With the ball in hand, Falcons Black’s play through the court was simple but effective and it allowed the team to close in on an early Leyton lead by scoring five goals in a row. This meant the quarter ended Leyton 17 – 12 Falcons Black.

Quarter 2
After a motivational speech from the Falcons Black coaches and captain, the team were ready to close the gap further. They made no changes for this quarter but increased the intensity of their play with fast patches of netball that flowed effortlessly. Unfortunately, this wasn’t maintained throughout the quarter though and the Loughborough-based team were caught off guard during Leyton’s set plays. This resulted in Leyton winning the quarter 15-11 and taking a 32-23 lead into half time.

Quarter 3
Falcons Black made a few changes for the start of the second half: Kaylea was introduced at WD, Francesca moved to C and Katie moved to WA with Jess going to the bench. The team continued to apply pressure and create turnovers and spaces, which allowed the ball to be brought through court in a structured manner. However, a strong defence from Leyton forced Falcons into a number of errors, allowing the home team to push further ahead.

Quarter 4
Falcons made some further changes for the final quarter: Katie came back on at C, Jess at WA and Fran moved to the bench. It was a bad quarter for the Falcons squad though. Leyton were able to push on and got a run of eight unanswered goals. The helped towards the final score of Leyton 69 – 35 Falcons Black.

Congratulations to Katie Flaherty who was awarded Player of the match.