End of season blues for CroydonCroydon 4 took on Supernova 4 on a gloriously sunny day. In first attack were Katie Hannah Kieron and Bryan with Beccy Janine Paul and David in first defence. The first half started with Croydon passing the ball around quite well and holding possession but it was a good thing there was no shot clock as minutes seem to pass without a shot. Nova were marking very tight which made things difficult and steadily built a lead throughout the half. This affected Croydon and they lost concentration with many passes going astray, including some passing out from defence. Croydon's sole reply was from Kieron who shot from 4m and picked up the rebound from the basket to score a running in shot. Half time we were 6-1 down. Jon and the referee(!) had some words of encouragement at half time and the second half was definitely better, although there were still a lot of loose passes. However, shots were going up and rolling around the basket and there was some recycling of the ball, particularly when Bryan was in collect. Despite this Nova scored 2 more to end the game 8-1. This 4th team are always relatively small compared with their opponents and still quite inexperienced in terms of positioning. If there was sufficient speed in the pass and movement this could make up for these factors but today when things were tried quickly they just didn't come off. Also in defence the hands didn't go up quickly enough on occasion. Probably what is needed is an experienced player at each end to direct operations and build upon the really good work we are doing at training.Match Report by JonD Final Score: Croydon 4 1 vs 8 Supernova 4Kieron(1)Bryan(0)David(0)Paul(0)Janine(0)Katie(0)Hannah(0)Beccy(0)
Swans show big improvement but not enough to beat BecSwans travelled to Trinity on a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning for their semi-final match against Bec. Following a narrow defeat against the side just weeks before, and with Coach Walsh feeling slightly under the weather Swans knew they had to step up. Leading the attack at one end were George, Smith, McDanell and Sturgess, and in defence Walsh, Yearwood, W.White and Green. The Swans fought hard in defence but despite their best efforts they fell 2-0 down following a long shot from Bec. The sides swapped ends putting Walshs end in attack. A missed long shot collected by Green was passed out to Yearwood who neatly dropped it into the basket to make the score 2-1. Bec fought back and following a penalty conceded against Swans and another impressive long shot from Bec, the score was 4-1 for half time. A helpful chat from Paul helped swans focus on key tactics for the second half. Substitutions were also made, Kelly came on for Green and R.White for Smith allowing fresh legs for the second half. The Swans came back fighting and R.White led the attack scoring a runner from a well-timed feed provided by McDanell who fought hard against a young, sprightly substitution from Bec. A good firm pass from W.White led to a drop off from Walsh making the score 4-3 and keeping the Swans winning dream in sight, however 3 consecutive goals from Bec - one from a free pass made the score 7-3. An excellent performance from W.White was then substituted for Galloway who scored an impressive drop off ending the game 7-4. Despite another defeat against Bec, Swans fought hard against a strong side. Some great efforts in collect were demonstrated from George, Kelly, and Smith, and some well timed runs from Walsh, Sturgess and R.White could have been goers had it been any other day! It was Yearwood who took MVP this week for his excellent performance both in attack and defence against a competitive opponent and for scoring a superbly timed drop off. Congratulations to Bec for a well fought victory and providing a fun and competitive match ! Also many thanks to Paul for half time and full time debriefs providing some helpful tactics ! Well played all! Match Report by Jessica | Updated by Jessica Previous photo Next photo1 of 1 Final Score: Bec 5 7 vs 4 Croydon SwansBen(1)Leo(1)Tom(0)Roger(1)Joe(0)Amy(0)Emma(0)Jocelyn(1)Jessica(0)Lindsey(0)Wendy(0)
