2nd team unravel after good start

Today saw KCNC 2 take on Tonbridge 2, an experienced team that we knew would exploit our weaknesses based on their sheer knowledge of the game. The starting 7 took to court after a good warm up on the wet courts and, as we have done in every game this season, we started well. Club were struggling for defence today but Tonbridge weren’t to know after Jayne Goldsborough stepped up as GK and looked the part from the starting whistle. Between Elize Ansell and Jayne the two did a cracking job as circle defence with Elize making some huge interceptions while Jayne showed great strength fighting for every rebound. With the first quarter ending 11-8 to Club we were pleased with the good start.

Second quarter saw one change, Nichola Morrison moved from GA to GS a straight swap with Kirsty Hall. However shooting stats this quarter faltered, and as feeds into the circle became less frequent the pressure was on for the shots which just didn’t go in. A few dropped balls and loose passes meant Tonbridge gained possession and produced more goals, ending the second quarter 22-18 up.

Into the third quarter Debbie Greenslade moved to WA, Lily Whitehead came on as C and Jessica Saville took a sub. Lily made some great drives down the court helping fed the ball to the shooters whose shooting had now improved. With Jayne, Elize and Shannon Murray still doing a good job in defence it just wasn’t enough to stop Tonbridge’s centre court feeding some great balls into their shooters who weren’t going to miss. Club struggled with the edges of the court due to poorly painted lines and too many balls were received off court and given away to the opposition. Club couldn’t keep up as Tonbridge pulled away with 13 goal lead.

In to the final quarter we had nothing to lose, and coach Sonia Grant instructed us to go out for everything and commit to every interception. Final changes were made which saw Jayne back in her comfort zone at GS and Nichola in at GK. Despite some great interceptions and quality feeds into Jayne and Kirsty from the centre court players club just couldn’t grab hold of the game with the match ending 49-37 to Tonbridge. There were patches of greatness in the game from second team however work needs to be done to ensure consistency going forward.

Match report by Nichola Morrison