Player of the Match; Jess RS
What a welcome score! However it wasn’t as easy as a 10 goal lead suggested and our girls had to battle it out and also correct some silly mistakes. I will put down to us being a little tired at the end of this half term.
In the first quarter we made it hard work. Interceptions were won, and then the advantage was quickly lost as we passed the ball into the hands of the opposition. Luckily for us Ranby’s shooting were off and we went 5-2 up. Fran FH worked hard in defence while Roxanne B adjusted to her defensive position.
The next quarter was not our best. We managed to retain our lead, now 6-4. In this quarter Ranby scored 2, while we only achieved 1. Our play was disjointed and we unfortunately reverted back to running away from the ball, rather than driving forward and catching out the opposition with a quick sprint. It also did not help to have so many passes go straight back to Ranby. In truth, we were sloppy.
After a thorough team talk and revision of game strategies, the girls did us proud in the 3rd and 4th quarter. The score improved to 16-9 after three quarters time and then 23-13 at full time, so in this half S.A managed 16 goals to Ranby’s 8. Fran FH continued to play soundly and Roxanne B picked up her game and made a much bigger contribution.
The shooters were now on great form. Given the opportunity Lucy R and Alice S reacted quickly and popped in the shots. Jess RS threw long balls in, many of which were converted to a goal. Lucy R in particular was on good form. However for all the attack, we do need to think about varying how the ball gets into the circle. We can’t rely on a long ball when the defence are tall or energetic.
In centre court, Jess RS worked tirelessly and although her opposition was strong, Jess never gave up, she made few errors and her red face at the end of the match said it all. Ella N also worked on her strategy from the last game and continued to stay in the correct space. Arabella A also tried hard to stick with her player. For both Arabella and Ella taking the time to think who to play the ball to would be a good step forward and links with varying the feed into our shooters, so our play is less predictable and therefore harder to mark.
So, overall we achieved a win against a tough side and it gave us lots to think about for our next match against Denstone after the holiday. Thanks to the supporters for making the long journey.
AJW
Posted on
Thu, February 10, 2011
by MAC