Saturday 5th November – HLNC Match Report – Hinckley Ladies Netball Club

B Team

Hinckley B had two matches this week. In the first they travelled to Henley D on Wednesday evening. It turned out to be a high impact game with Hinckley suffering several injuries during the match. Unfortunately the game had to be abandoned late into the last quarter, with Hinckley losing the match 40-29. Player of the match was awarded to the Hinckley wing attack Anna Kinsella.

Due to the injuries suffered earlier in the week, Hinckley B had a much changed team on Saturday when they played Offchurch. Hinckley started the match well, finishing the first quarter only 1 goal adrift. In the middle periods Offchurch drew ahead due to more accurate passing and excellent shooting. Despite out scoring Offchurch in the last quarter the gap was too large to bridge with Hinckley losing the game 35-31. Player of the match was awarded to the Hinckley goal attack Emily Harrison.

Juniors

Hinckley juniors were in action this week as they played Stratford B in their second game of the season. They struggled to get going with the scoreline at the end of the first quarter 3-9. Stratford’s consistent pressing and a few Hinckley mistakes stretched their lead to 4-19. Hinckley managed to pull a few goals back with some good linking up play and excellent defensive interceptions, however this wasn’t enough with Stratford playing fantastic netball finishing the third quarter 29-7. It was Hinckley’s aim to be persistent and see the game through to try and reach double figures, which they achieved with the game finishing 10-40. Player of the match was Wallis Newitt.

A Team

In their match against Coventry Sphinx this week, Hinckley Ladies A team struggled for the first few minutes to get back into the swing of things after the two week break. but were always narrowly in front. With excellent defending by the GK and GD duo and some good linking attacking play, Hinckley managed to see out the second quarter. In the third quarter Sphinx stepped it up narrowing the gap with some excellent shooting. Hinckley showed more composure and possession in the final quarter, stretching the lead to 5, as the game finished 37-32. Player of the match was once again Ashleigh Oakes.

C Team

Hinckley C came out fighting against Alvis B this week, gaining the upper hand straight away. Alvis put up a tough fight as they kept coming back to equalise the score, though Hinckley managed to keep marginally in the lead with their defence working incredibly hard to regain possession. During the third quarter Alvis managed to briefly go 1 goal ahead, however this was quickly turned around by Hinckley with the whole team working together to regain the lead. In the last quarter Hinckley dominated the game play and managed to finish with a comfortable 44-36 win. Player of the match was WA Jess Rainbow who made countless interceptions throughout the match.

D Team

The D team took to the courts against the strong Alec High team looking to sustain their undeafeated season. After the first quarter Alec High took a narrow lead but Hinckley D stayed focused , defending tight on the opposition and playing the ball steady and controlled up and down the court .The defence against the D’s was tight, which made it difficult for attacking play down the court. It was a close scoring game but unfortunately Alec High just nudged ahead making this the D teams first loss this season with a final result of 33 -29 to Alec High. Pom went to Holly Hemsley

E Team

After a month’s break Hinckley E were keen to get back on court to play. Hinckley started off on the back foot, slightly nervous and making a few mistakes. Stockton took advantage and soon went ahead though both teams struggled to score due to the windy conditions. By half time Stockton were leading 18-10. Hinckley’s defenders had a tough match but fought hard throughout, intercepting many balls and making it difficult for the Stockton shooters. Hinckley’s centre court players linked well and fed into the shooters who had a very tight and competitive game, trying their best not to be put off by the pressure. In the third quarter Hinckley got within 3 goals of Stockton but Stockton again managed to pull ahead. Unfortunately Hinckley finally lost the game 24-31. Anna Poulson at GS was named player of the match, she held her position well in the circle and used her height and strength advantage to fight for the rebounds.

F Team

After a difficult week and unfortunate illness the F team captain Hayley was unable to play and Nicky took on captaincy role in Hayley absence. The F team were playing away at synergy grounds, we started with 6 players. Most team members played outside of their normal positions thanks to Jodie, Jade and Claire all trying their best in different positions. The first quarter began with the advantage all to synergy; with the extra player they manage to get a 16 point lead. Dispute being a player down, no goals scored and difficulty in getting the ball down the court the team pulled together and kept the fighting spirit going supporting each other. Some lovely accurate chest passes and alternative bounce passes used by the team but unable to result in goals. Going into the second quarter the f team kept their head’s high with jade managing to intercept passes into the shooting circle and reduce the amount of goals scored. By the end of the second quarter the goals stood at 25 to 0. Changes were made to try to improve the passage of ball down the court into the shooting circle, and goals.

The team supported the changes made by Nicky and Hinckley took to the court for the third quarter. In the third quarter Hinckley managed to score 3 goals against some tough opposition and got more interceptions meaning synergy only manged to score 9, less than previous quarters. The team continued to offer advice and support to one another despite the significant goal difference. By the fourth quarter the result was 7 goals to synergy’s 50; dispute the odds being stacked against the team all players played to the best of their ability and showed true strength and character. I was very proud of all the girl’s effort and the score didn’t reflect to effort put in. The positives from the game a good variety of passes used and accurate strong passes, some lovely interceptions by the defense in the circle and team continued to bond and support one another. Well done to Jodie on getting player of match.

G Team

After moving to top of the league last week, Hinckley G found themselves having to field a team with a player short. It was therefore a workmanlike and sensible performance that Hinckley delivered, as the midcourt players worked together to cover the missing position whilst conserving their energy to ensure they saw the match out. Great work from the defensive circle, spearheaded by POM Verity Skelton in her new position of Goal Defence, bought the ball up the court to the attackers who took their time to find the right feed into Goal Shooter Aly Steele, who used her considerable height advantage over the Bramcote defence to receive the passes in and duly convert for her team. Despite losing the last quarter, a tired looking Hinckley had built up enough of a lead to take the victory by 34 goals to 17 and secure another week in top spot.