Leicestershire’s Grasshopper fielded a strong team for their match against county rivals, TFC Too, and some good, commanding play during the first quarter, saw them lead 6-12 at the end of this quarter.
Their strong display continued into the second quarter, but TFC Too continued to fight back and brought the score to 16-27 to Grasshoppers by half time. Beth Smith replaced Andy Flewitt as GS and her height in the attacking circle, coupled with some very impressive defensive play by GK Tracy Glover, GD Megan Palmer and WD Laura Harbour, helped Grasshopper NC to pull away and win the third quarter by 5-12, leaving an overall score of 21-39. Finally, a ‘man of the match’ performance in attack, by GA Donna Osborn as well as help in defence by WD Laura Harbour, helped Grasshoppers to an emphatic victory over TFC Too, by 27 goals to 52 Final score: TFC Too 27 – 52 Grasshopper NC However, TFC Too also played some good netball and continued to show great spirit to gain themselves a point for achieving over half of Grasshopper’s final score. Lincoln City won their fifth consecutive match against Northants JMs on Sunday 10th November in the East Midlands Netball’s Regional League Division 2. The Imps began with the same starting seven that previously beat Grasshoppers.
Coach Karen Baker introduced a new style of defending which increased the number of interceptions made by the majority of Imps’ players throughout the court. The attack was also able to turn over possession and made it look effortless with excellent feeds from Abby Johnson and Beth Richardson to Becky Baker and Amy Womersley who extended the lead. Lincoln stormed ahead to take a 22-7 lead after the first quarter.
Lincoln City 51- Grasshoppers 34
This week Grasshoppers faced Lincoln City in the East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 2. Both teams made a good start in the first quarter, with some great interceptions by the Grasshoppers defence and some great conversions in the shooting circle. This led to the first quarter ending 11-9 to Lincoln. 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. 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!
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. |