U13A v Ranby House Won 29-15

Player of the match: Charlotte P
It was a very cold afternoon of netball hit by snow storms but still lots of sunshine. However, the courts at S. Anselm’s were certainly hot hot hot! The team had their captain absent due to illness and we wish her a speedy recovery, which meant that Poppy M happily stepped in as Goal defence from her original position as a shooter.
Mrs Northcott was very confident with her team and after a “losing is not an option” team talk the girls were ready to play. They looked feisty, confident and slick as the clock ticked up to 2 minutes and S. Anselm’s were in the lead 2 – 0. Ranby had two key players and it was important that the team worked to pressurise this area. Georgina H and Fleur G played well together in the shooting circle and it was super to see a variation of moves that had been practised in training. Nancy J, Georgia R-S and Millie C worked well in the centre court once again, all attacking the ball and moving well down the court. At the end of the first quarter the scoreline was 7 – 2. In the second and third quarter, the strength of the game certainly was with the S. Anselm’s defence. Charlotte P and Poppy M pressurised the shooters and gained possession again and again which allowed the attack and shooters to convert the goals and increase the scoreline. Charlotte P in particular marked tightly and was strong with the ball when possession was gained – well done Charlotte! The half time score was an impressive 14 – 6 and at three quarter time 20 - 10. At times the play got a bit scrappy and there was a loss of concentration, however, when the team re- focussed the Ranby team were taken by surprise at the speed of the movement and passing of S. Anselm’s. It was a great match, very competitive and played in excellent spirit. A huge thank you must go to Fleur G for re-organising her meeting to enable her to play for the whole match and also to Poppy M who played so brilliantly as Goal defence. We hope that Captain G-P feels better soon – we miss you G-P! Well done to all players and thank you to parents for super support in such cold conditions. MPN