Netball 1sts beat Sunderland to climb up league place

University of Sunderland 1sts 31 - 32 University of York 1sts

York netball firsts went out with all to play for last Wednesday in their match against Sunderland, needing a win to secure a possible leap up the division, from second off the bottom to third place in the table. Their exuberant play and, as some might say, the help of Goal Defence Sarah Smith’s lucky knickers, meant that they maintained their winning streak, and beat Sunderland by one goal in a thrilling encounter.

York were an unpractised team due to Vice Captain Grace Marsden’s injured ankle, which required a well-deserved rest after her blinder of a match at Varisty, where she had to hobble off 5 minutes into the last quarter. Third team stable, Shadyn Nikzad, bravely stepped up to play her debut first team game as Centre and was an asset to the team.

The game started relatively slowly, as the girls needed to adapt to the new positions and combinations. Initially, mistakes were made by both teams and included poor throws and mistimed feeds into the circle, however York quickly picked up the pace and started to dominate the match, with successful centre play from Wing Defence Becki O’Dwyer and Nikzad, who was always there for the ball when needed. The Sunderland defence had clearly started to read Wing Attack Liz Cowell’s feeds into the circle, which was noted by Cowell and corrected instantly, which led to York’s Goal Attack Captain Sarah Fisher and Goal Shooter, Kay Masterson handling balls in the circle perfectly and converting these chances into goals.

The second quarter saw the entrance of the third member of the shooting trio, Claire Dinan who slotted straight into the team as Goal Shooter and moved, as always, very well in the circle. York’s momentum continued from the previous quarter and both the defence and attack intercepted every weak pass that Sunderland tried to put past them, which happened on many an occasion. Smith and Goal Keeper, Jenni Williams were notable in their ability to continue with their solid and successful partnership formed from the last ten minutes of the Varsity match 4 days previously. York ploughed ahead; however, there were problems with feeds into the circle due to Dinan being a few feet shorter than previous goal shooter, Masterson led to York missing out on some easy goals. The defensive tactic of the zone, which the firsts have really improved on over the past few weeks, was integrated into the game and fortunately Nikzad took like a fish to water to it, a new style of play for her to have to dive into during a game. After a very successful second quarter, York had a nine goal lead, showing fitness sessions really do pay off, as Sunderland were panting like dogs on a hot day.

The third quarter, named by captain, Fisher as the “Devils Quarter”, was exactly what it said on the tin. The girls were asked by their captain to achieve a total of 30 goals by the end of that quarter but they were lucky to reach the 20 goal mark, instead, they allow Sunderland to come from miles behind and hit the 20 mark themselves. York’s heads went down drastically and the 9 goal lead was shattered. Silly mistakes were made; York started to crumble and allowed Sunderland to walk all over them. The less said about this quarter the better, however kudos to Sunderland who probably achieved the biggest come back this BUCS season is yet to see. Captain Fisher had to step in with some truly inspirational words at the end of the quarter to pick up spirits and Smith’s head, which was practically on the floor.

The said team talk was exactly what the York girls needed to boost their confidence and pick their stride back up. Fisher moved her self out of the goal circle to ensure steady, stable passes reached Masterson and Dinan to secure the nets needed to overtake Sunderland’s lead of 2. Fisher’s position swap was a very wise choice and all playing would agree that she excelled herself staying as strong as a rock for her team. The girls kept there composure with screams of calm, in not so calm voices, ringing out from the defence at any opportunity. Every girl on the court put in 100% effort, with great back up from O’Dwyer, who was always on the line to ensure options for Cowell, now playing at Centre, and Fisher to feed successfully into the circle. Jenni Williams stood strong throughout the quarter until her fellow team mate Smith took her out, both falling to the floor but in true York style the two girls got up and carried on doing what they knew they had to do to secure the win.

The final whistle blew, with York securing a one goal win (final score 32-31), which didn’t reflect their play in the second and fourth quarters. However, a win is a win and they now lie third in the table which really shows how the team have improved and grown since their short stint at the bottom of the table.

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