Initial Rounds:
v Grace Dieu, Won 4 - 2
v King Henry VIII, Drew 4 - 4
v Fairfield, Lost 2 - 4
v Bablake, Won 5 - 3
2nd in group.
Semi-final: Played winner of group 1, Bromsgrove, score at full time was 4 – 4, score after 5 minutes extra time was 8 – 4 to S.Anselm’s
Final: v Fairfield, winners of other semi-final, lost 2 - 3
U11A were 2nd place overall and were awarded silver medals.
U11 Squad: Clare T (GA), Emily H (GS), Georgia R (GD), Imo C (GK), Beth M (WD); Georgina T (C), Poppy S & Amelia W (WD/WA).
We thought we had been very lucky in this tournament draw, with Bromsgrove being placed in the other group and no Fairfield this year, the IAPS Regional Champions in 2010 and winners of this tournament for that last few years. However when we arrived, we saw the Fairfield minibus pulling up and then discovered they had been put in our group, replacing Foremarke B! We knew our initial rounds games had suddenly become a lot trickier, but continued with our warm up and preparation as normal, with a little sports psychology thrown in for good measure.
Our first game was against Grace Dieu and we were off to a good start, winning comfortably and for most of the game, releasing the pressure and ensuring we could enjoy our netball in this game. We then had a few games off and despite our continuous skills, drills and team practices the freezing conditions took their toll and we did start the second game against King Henry VIII a little slowly. Our defence were allowing the shooters too much space and a very tall GD dominated in the D, making it difficult for our shooters to shoot or secure rebounds. The girls were 1 – 2 down at half time, but upped their game in the second half, with defenders Georgia and Imo getting right back into the game and we snatched a 4 – 4 draw. Our third game was against Fairfield and this time it was them that were slow to start, with us drawing 1 – 1 at half time, then going 2 – 1 ahead at the start of the second half. Both teams were even shooting, defence and skills wise, but the physical play of Fairfield in the second half intimidated our girls and was often not blown, the end result saw us losing 2 – 4 and the girls were incredibly disappointed. It was a valuable learning opportunity for them though, as in tournaments you can never look back and despite their protests about the Fairfield play, we refocused and prepared for the next game. Bablake, sister school of King Henry are another team that play netball over two terms, but we won this game comfortably 5 – 3, after a particularly good second half.
The results were tight, but we had one more point and more goals than King Henry VIII, so went into the semi-finals as runners up of our group. We faced Bromsgrove, winners of their group, but found our teams were evenly matched. So even, that at full time we were drawing 4 – 4, so faced five minutes of extra time. The play again became physical, but the Foremarke umpire took charge and ensured it could continue in a safe way, with neither team running the risk of injury. Our girls were totally up for the final and stormed ahead by four goals, winning 8 – 4.
We then faced Fairfield again in the play off for first and second and a good first half saw us again evenly matched 1 – 1. The second half was very even, but again the physical play intimidated some of our girls; with one of our players actually being picked up off the ground by her opponent, a move not seen by the umpire. Both teams battled hard, with Fairfield just having the edge by one goal when the final whistle was blown. Unlucky girls, but you really impressed with your play today and showed real tournament potential, well done! We have 3 more tournaments this term, so plenty of opportunity to go for gold!
Thanks to everybody who came to support, it was super to see so many of you on the sideline and your encouragement really spurred the girls on. Well done on surviving the freezing cold conditions!
DLB
Posted on
Sun, January 30, 2011
by MAC