2nd team power on in last quarter

Well maybe it was just the 2nd team coach who thought the first game of the season was going to be a tough one for the 2nd team. A last minute loss of their Centre Megan the day before meant some changes to team personnel. However, the players went on court under miserable weather conditions with grit and determination which made you forget just how young these girls are!

Hornets 1, were a seasoned team of players and had their star player GA who didn’t miss much. Unfortunately Club had 7 star players on the court plus a number of star subs to call upon when required which is what being in a Team is all about

From the 1st whistle, despite a turnover on our first centre pass with a held ball the girls dug deep to intercept the Hornets centre pass and level the game at 1 each. Debbie Greenslade had a commanding game at C showing that despite being the most senior member of the team she still had game as she ensured every centre pass got out and controlled the game down the court being available specifically for the Paige and Kirsty’s quick pass and move in the circle.. This enabled Club to finish the quarter with a 2 goal lead at 13 v 11.

The 2nd quarter saw club have their worst patch of the game, although the players and the play was no different. The girls worked hard throughout but for some reason the goals would not go in (I blame the post-twisted!). Luckily for us the defence down court was causing Hornets too many problems as well. Shannon Murray at WD was getting interceptions; tips and picking up loose balls so it was a low scoring quarter for both teams; Club 5 v Hornets 6 leaving the half time score at 19-18.

Hornets were showing signs of getting their game together, as a few more of their players had now turned up so they were able to freshen up their squad and put the right players in the right positions. Not that it mattered to the Club girls and the 3rd quarter saw the introduction of Grace Thomas at WD which allowed the team to refocus and up their work rate again.

The Hornets persistent off side in the D had little affect on the front court players, enabling the shooters to cut up the shooting circle with lovely baseline drives and top of the D cuts and receiving perfect feeds from Jemma Fruin and Debbie.

A tense start to the final quarter only eased towards the last 5 minutes of the game which saw our defence, who had been playing brilliantly all game really shine. The side line comments of Ohhhh and Ahhh as Rebecca O'Dwyer and Ellouise Edwards tipped; intercepted and rebounded was like watching fireworks on bonfire night the crowd was so delighted!. Grace got to stretch her legs at C and showed her quick feet and speed as she made herself readily available around the D to support the shooters.

A switch round of the shooters seemed to add another dimension to the front court. Paige Money at GA was getting out easily for Centre passes and the elusive Kirsty Hall at GS could not be found by the Hornets GK until it was too late and the ball was either making its way through the net or a penalty pass or shot had been given away.

Club did have some unforced errors scattered throughout the game (footwork, offside on centre passes); but the majority of play was excellent for a newly formed team. Club managed to turnover the ball and take a 2 goal lead in the last quarter as they had done in previous quarters but were never ever able to sustain the lead. On this occasion after much too-ing and fro-ing they wore Hornets down with their continuous driving onto the ball and solid defending. Luck continued to shine down on Club despite the drizzly rain and with Ellouise pressuring the Hornets shooter into errors enabled her to start the charge back down court . Shannon making herself available for every pass and Becks floating majestically in the air to pick up the high pass and send it down to the waiting front court players. The movement of quick feet as the shooters adjusted themselves to enable accurate feeds from Jemma and Grace resulted in the best quarter of the game with Club scoring an impressive 15 goals to win the match 44 v 39.

A great way to kick off the first game for the Club teams at NWKL. We will enjoy that win this weekend but we will remember that we are only as good as our last game, so we are all looking forward to the next training session to work on our strengths and improve on our weaknesses!

Match report by Sonia Grant-Yendell