Falcons Yellow loses out to Hinckley Hurricanes in a fast paced, high scoring match.
Falcons Yellow came out of the blocks ready to played hard and earn themselves another win but Hinckley Hurricanes stood in their way and were determined to make them work for it. The squad for today’s match – Alex Wood-Davis (GS), Keri Moorhouse (GA) Melanie Brennan (WA), Emma Davis (C), Tamsin Mason (WD) , Samantha Brown (GD) and Jo Holt (WA). Weller Howard and Connie Xavier were on the bench. Lincoln made it four wins out of four games on Sunday with a win over Leicestershire’s Grasshoppers.
With Lucy Heathershaw, Angie White and Laura Forsey absent and injured, Lincoln welcomed back Becky Baker and Amy Womersley into the team. After last week’s reshuffle, Jade Houlton retuned to defence to work alongside Lizzie Saywell, which allowed Amy Wormersley to join Anna Gilbert further up the court. It was a tight first quarter as Lincoln struggled to feed the ball into their attack. However they edged ahead to take a two goal lead: 11-9. Iceni are beginning to show their experience this season by comfortably winning their latest East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 2 game against Northants JMs 28-49.
Although Northants JMs put up a great fight it didn't stop Iceni dominating the game. The Derbyshire-based team put in an all-round strong performance in both attack and defence and won every quarter. Great shooting by Iceni’s Katie Austin (GA) meant that she was nominated as the Player of the Match.
Having lost the opening two matches in the East Midlands Netball Regional League, Division 1, newly promoted Charnwood Sapphires faced top of the table Hinckley Hurricanes.
A tight first quarter saw Hinckley lead by one goal, 13 - 12, at the break. Nottingham Knights won their latest East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 rescheduled fixture against Pennine on 16th October 2013. This convincing win was a confidence boost to the Knights after securing their place in the top division after winning the playoffs at the end of last season. Nottingham Knights took the lead early on and had an eight-goal lead at quarter time (12-4). Pennine strengthened in the second quarter, narrowed the gap and won the quarter 8-9, bringing the score to 20-13. The Knights responded to this in the second half with a solid defensive performance that debilitated Pennine’s attacking efforts and led to a consistent conversion of turnovers. This resulted in the Nottingham team winning the quarter 15-3 (35-16 overall) and winning the match 44-22, allowing Pennine to secure one point from the game. A promising start for Nottingham Knights in Division 1!
Falcons Yellow stepped on court ready to battle again and a battle it was until the final whistle. The starting line-up was the winning team from last week - Alex Wood-Davis (GS), Kerri Moorhouse (GA), Jo Holt (WA), Mel Brennan (C), Tamsin Mason (WD), Samantha Brown (GD), Beth Jackson (GK) with Rebecca Simms and Connie Xavier on the bench.
The game started with Knights scoring first. Falcons Yellow came back with a turnover though. Some great defensive work from Brown, Mason and Jackson was on display, whilst at the other end of the court and following great feeds from both Holt and Brennan, excellent shooting from Wood-Davis and Moorhouse was also witnessed. 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. |