Grasshopper 1, upbeat from their recent sponsorships with James Mossman Ltd and Chaperone K9, fielded a full strength side against Northants Storm. The first quarter initially went with each team’s centres but eventually Northants Storm capitalised on a few mistakes to convert, leaving Grasshoppers trailing, 10-15.
No changes were made for the second quarter. Grasshopper 1 managed to equal their first quarter score (10) but were unable to stop Northants Storm scoring 19 – despite some superb defending from Player of the Match, Laura Watson (GK). At half time, Grasshopper trailed 20-34. Changes were made at half time, with Freddie Marlow coming on at GA, Captain Donna Osborn moving to WA, Tracy Glover coming on as GK, Holly Walker moving to GD and Laura Watson moving to WD. The third quarter was more closely-contested, with Grasshopper 1 leading the quarter scoring on a number of occasions. But Northants Storm eventually pulled away, 7-11. In the final quarter, Grasshopper’s defence curtailed Northants’ shooters once again. Grasshopper fought doggedly in a pleasant, well-contested game, to draw the quarter (11-11) – a quarter they could so easily have won. They final 38-56 score did not truly reflect the closeness of the game. GRASSHOPPER REGIONAL 2 JUST LOSE OUT TO CLIFTONETTES
The first quarter was a very closely contested one, with each team converting from their centre pass, which is testament to good, accurate shooting. However, Grasshopper NC was very unfortunate to lose the quarter by one goal, 12-13. The second quarter was just as close, with both teams being very evenly matched in both attack and defence. However, Grasshopper NC managed to edge ahead, leading 28-27 at half time. During the break, Team Manager, Fi Borrows, needed to rotate the players, bringing on fresh legs in the GS and WD positions. However, these changes allowed Cliftonettes to capitalize on the situation, who opened up a 10-goal lead going into the final quarter, 35-45. For the final quarter, the team reverted to its starting 7 and Grasshopper NC started to pull back the game – and the goals – but unfortunately ran out of time, losing 50-57 by the final whistle. A very good performance by everyone, in spite of the loss, against a tough, well-organised Cliftonettes side. GRASSHOPPER REGIONAL 1 LOSE TO A STRONG NOTTS KNIGHTS TEAM
The first quarter was tough, with Grasshopper NC (Regional 1) taking their time to settle down, and making some silly mistakes. This, coupled with some very consistent shooting from the Notts Knights circle attack, who were ably fed by their strong WA, meant Grasshopper NC were losing 7-13 after the first fifteen minutes. The second quarter saw Grasshopper NC increase their goal tally but Notts Knights continued to pull away, leading by 10 goals at half time (16-26). During the break, Grasshopper NC made a number of changes in an attempt to shake things up. Captain Donna Osborn came off and was replaced with newly-signed youngster Freddie Marlow, whilst Nikki Payne went on at WA and Holly Walker moved to WD. Grasshopper NC had a well contested quarter and only lost it 8-9, but this meant they were still trailing 24-35. In the final quarter Tracy Glover was replaced by Megs Palmer at GK, Holly Walker moved to GD and Laura Watson returned as WD. This quarter Grasshopper NC scored 11 goals, but still they could not match the Notts Knights shooters. In spite of Player of the Match, Katie Long’s best efforts, Grasshopper NC lost the game 35-48. Grasshopper Regional 2 team gave Sleaford Barge Tornados a good game on Sunday 9 December.
The first quarter was effectively goal-for-goal for much of the period, with Grasshopper losing it 15-17. No changes were made in the second quarter and both teams played a strong game, with some excellent defence and shooting at either end, but Grasshopper Regional 2 were in the ascendency and won this quarter 19-16. At half time, the Grasshopper GK had to come off and changes in defence had to be made: youngster Rosie Weselby moved to GK and Becs Smith came on at WD. Despite continued good effort, Sleaford Barge Tornados pulled away and Grasshoppers trailed 48-54. Everyone gave 100% effort and further changes were made in defence in the final quarter; this saw Sleaford Barge Tornados’ GS’s shots curtailed, but then the GA became the more dominant shooter. In spite of Grasshoppers scoring an excellent 61 goals, it was not enough as they were beaten 61-74 by the final whistle. It is not often that a team loses a match after scoring 61 goals! Player of the Match was C – Katie Clarke. GRASSHOPPER 1 JUST MISS OUT ON THEIR FIRST WIN THIS SEASON - AGAINST HINCHCLIFFE HYDRAULICS27/11/2018
Grasshoppers won the toss and took the first centre pass, but it was quickly turned over by Hinchcliffe Hydraulics. However, Grasshopper did the same to them and turned over their centre pass, to make it 1-1. Following this, Grasshopper took an early lead and led 5-2 at one point, but some determined play by Hinchcliffe saw them draw level and overtake Grasshopper, to win the first quarter 11-15.
No changes were made going into the second quarter and this paid off for Grasshoppers as they won that quarter 13-11. At half time, Grasshoppers brought Donna Osborn out to GA and Katie Long moved to GS and Holly Walker moved from C to GD. Tracy Glover came off at GK and Laura Watson went in there. Hannah Wale came on at WA and Carly Vardy moved to C, with Sadie Burch coming on at WD. Unfortunately, these changes and fresh legs were not enough to stop Hinchcliffe, and by the end of the third quarter, Grasshoppers had lost another quarter by 15 goals to 11, trailing 35-41 overall. In the final quarter, Carly Vardy came off and Holly Walker moved to C again, with Tracy Glover reclaiming the GK position and Laura Watson moving to GD; the shooters also swapped over again and in spite of a spirited attempt, which helped them win the final quarter, Grasshoppers just couldn’t get the final three goals they needed for a win. The final score, 48-50. Player of the Match was Holly Walker – who played really well as C and GD. Grasshoppers faced Falcons Yellow for the first time and in a closely contested first quarter, they just edged out as winners of the quarter by 15 goals to 14, with all players on court performing well.
At the start of the second quarter, Kate Garner came off and was replaced at GK by Laura Scigliano. Some good court linkage play by GA, Andy Flewitt and some solid, accurate and confident shooting by Beth Smith at GS saw Grasshoppers take that quarter convincingly, by 16 goals to 10, making the half time score 31-24. Further team changes were made at half time, with Rosie Weselby being replaced at WD by Laura Scigliano and Kate Garner coming back on as GK. Andy Flewitt was replaced at GA by Grace Litchfield and she also combined well with Beth Smith, joint players of the match Grace Brooks at WA and Katie Clarke at C and the team continued to play well and with confidence, winning the third quarter 16-8 and leading the game going into the final quarter by 47 goals to 32. No further changes were made and the game ebbed and flowed equally between the two teams; so much so that by the end of the final quarter, Falcons Yellow had managed to draw the quarter 11-11, but lost the game 58 goals to 43. Another mature, confident and calm performance by Grasshopper 2, who have not got flustered once so far this season. Well done all! Lincs won the first centre pass, but it was immediately turned over by the Grasshopper defence and Grasshopper converted this goal and proceeded to storm into the lead. Grasshopper was helped by several missed shots by the Lincs circle attack, but strong and effective passing up court enabled GS Katie Long and GA Donna Osborn to convert most shots. Grasshopper’s defensive unit of GK Tracy Glover, GD Megs Palmer and WD Holly Walker stopped Lincs City 2 from scoring for 13 minutes of the first 15 and going into the second quarter, Grasshopper NC led 13-1.
In the second quarter, it was more of the same for Grasshopper NC; they continued to convert their shots, whilst a very strong, indomitable defence made it extremely difficult for Lincs City 2. They did add to their score during the second quarter, but they continued to find it hard and Grasshopper led 25-8 at half time, helped by some good up-court linkage play by C Hannah Wale and WA Nikki Payne. Grasshopper NC continued to play calmly and with good control in the third quarter. They were unflappable and maintained their consistency to win this period 12-7 and lead by 37-15. The fourth quarter saw Lincs City 2 try to stage a come-back, but due to Grasshopper’s very strong defensive unit it was impossible and the defence played with great maturity and dictated that area of the court, causing Lincs City 2 to concede possession - for holding beyond three seconds – on several occasions, which helped Grasshopper gain their first win of the season. It was an emphatic win too as they won the game 49-18 and did not even allow Lincs City 2 to get half score. This was a well-deserved win by a Grasshopper team determined to play well, support each other and play for each other and congratulations must go to all of them and particularly the Player of the Match, Megs Palmer – on her first regional game for Grasshopper NC this season. Grasshopper’s new regional second team chalked up another excellent win against a strong Notts City side.
Grasshopper 2 won the toss and were straight out of the blocks, scoring from the centre and then turning over the next centre. That said, it was a tightly-contested first quarter but some inspired shooting by Beth Smith (GS) and Georgia Barnes (GA) helped Grasshoppers take a 17-10 lead. The second quarter was just as closely contested, with both sides converting well when the ball was in the shooting circle. However, some sterling defensive work by Kate Garner (GK), Connie Smith (GD, Player of the Match) and Rosie Weselby (WD), contained the Notts City attackers. Meanwhile, further accurate shooting from Grasshopper’s attacking team resulted in Grasshopper 2 leading 27-19 at half-time. Coach Fiona Borrows changed things around at half-time, with Laura Scigliano replacing Rosie Weselby at WD and Grace Brooks coming on at WA, while Katie Clarke moved to C. Another purple patch of shooting in the middle of the quarter resulted, seeing Grasshopper 2 leading 43-31 going into the fourth quarter. Grasshopper 2 retained good possession in the final quarter, denying Notts City opportunities to score. Notts City did come back towards the end of the game, adding 5 goals on the trot but it was not enough to claw back Grasshopper 2’s lead. The final score was 57-44. A great performance by Grasshopper 2, and an excellent team spirit and unity demonstrated by all. Grasshopper 1 fielded a full strength team and had a very closely contested first quarter – coming out winners at 8-6.
However, during the second quarter, Grasshopper 1 lost some of their rhythm and consistency, which allowed Brigg to capitalise. This led to them not only winning the quarter but leading at half time (16-18). A couple of changes were made at the break. The fresh legs helped Grasshopper 1 win the quarter and regain the lead; the score being 27-25 going into the last quarter. It was still too close to call who the eventual winners would be in the fourth quarter. However, in the dying seconds of the game, Grasshopper 1 were given a penalty pass just outside the attacking circle. With the scores level at 34-34, Grasshopper knew they needed just one goal to secure the win, but the conversion was not to be: a slight mix up wasted vital seconds and meant the ball had not passed fully through the ring at the final whistle – a nail-biting finish to the drawn match! Grasshopper 1’s Player of the Match was GD Holly Walker. Grasshopper 2 NC won the first centre pass in their first ever East Midlands regional game against Ripley (Regional League 3). However, Ripley turned it over and scored several goals in succession before Grasshoppers could reply. The quarter was tightly-contested though with Ripley coming out winners, 16-13.
No Grasshopper changes were made Coach, Fiona Borrows, which allowed the team to settle into the second quarter. This period went goal-for-goal for the most part, however Grasshoppers managed to turn over some of Ripley’s centre passes to win the quarter 12-8, giving them a 25-24 half-time lead. The Grasshopper team remained the same for the third quarter and solid shooting by GS Beth Smith and GA Georgia Barnes ensured Grasshoppers came out on top by 11 goals to 9. The final quarter saw some great defending by GK Kate Garner and GD Laura Scigliano, who were ably helped by WD Sadie Burch. This, coupled with some excellent linkage up court by C Amy Brennan and WA Katie Clarke, saw Grasshoppers win their first ever regional match by 51 goals to 44. A well-deserved win from a great team performance. |
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