First team netballers show grit and determination to get back to winning ways

HINCKLEY got back to winning ways in a hard-fought match away to Leamington.

A tight first quarter saw the teams go goal for goal, with Leamington just edging it 11-10 after the first 15 minutes.

After some regrouping, determination and encouragement from the supporters, Hinckley fought back and stretched the lead to three. Leamington attacked well, feeding the ball into their tall shooter and capitalising on their opportunities.

However, this didn’t stop player of the match Kate Chamberlain reading the game and making numerous important interceptions to keep Hinckley in the lead.

As the opposing umpire commented, the “beautiful play and connection” between Ashleigh Oakes and Bex Oldfield helped result in a close 45-43 win to Hinckley Ladies.

Hinckley Ladies Bs controlled the game against Alec High on Saturday, maintaining possession and operating a strong defence thanks to Nicola Coulson and Annis Pears managing to turn the opposition’s mistakes and get the ball back to their shooters they came out with a 27-20 win and player of the match was Sadie Baker at wing attack.

Hinckley C team were away at Ambleside and were hoping to make amends for a two goal defeat in their first encounter. Hinckley started well crept to a 13-10 advantage after the first quarter.

The second saw Hinckley stretch their lead to 27-22 despite excellent shooting from Ambleside’s young shooters.

Growing in confidence after the break Hinckley were able to flow the ball through to the attacking players with some great shooting from Zoe Stokes and player of the match Emily Harrison. The defence continued to work hard at the other end and contributed to an impressive 52-34 victory for the Hinckley side.

The derby match between Hinckley B and D teams this week proved to be a closely fought affair. The Bs started strongly, ending the first quarter with a four goal lead.

However the Ds tight defence and clinical shooting enabled them to take control of the second quarter, going into half-time with a five goal advantage.

Despite excellent shooting by the Bs in the second half, the Ds were able to extend their lead. Secure passes, fast drives and interceptions saw the Ds go further ahead after the third quarter but with the experienced B team piling on the pressure both teams knew it was still all to play for in the final quarter.

Despite a focused and committed final push from B it was the D team which came out on top to secure a crucial win, final score at 54-43 to the D team. Player of the match awards went to Hinckley B centre Sadie Baker and Hinckley Ds goal defence Beth Willars.

In a second game in a week, with their goal defence still injured, Hinckley D team had to make some position changes to their normal team line-up against Synergy.

Bethany Willars moved to goal defence alongside the experienced Emma Draycott as goal keeper, proving a dominant defence duo from the start.

The Ds settled into their stride and dominated the game with relentless interceptions from preventing Synergy from converting all of their chances.

Synergy’s defence stuck tight to the Hinckley shooters but Hinckley stayed calm and passed around until the opportunity came to feed the ball in.

Well-timed drives and critical throws into the goal circle from the attackers saw Hinckley extend their lead. Player of the match went to Bethany Willars.

For their third match of 2017, Hinckley Ladies F were away to Rugby Railway C. After injury worries they were glad to get the full seven players on court but knew they were up against a tough team.

Despite this, they started out strong and pulled ahead during the first quarter, leading 8-7. In the second quarter Rugby turned the tables and snatched the lead but Hinckley kept up the pressure with excellent defensive work from Nicky Daniel and Anna Ball, down only by three goals at half time.

With 15 minutes to go Rugby had increased their lead to 24-19 but the final quarter saw a resurgence for Hinckley with the Fs scoring eight goals to Rugby’s three and holding possession when the final whistle blew, leaving the score at 27 all.

It was an excellent game for the Hinckley Fs, with player of the match being awarded to Katie Eaves for her incredible work as goal attack.

Hinckley G team continued their winning streak versus Warwick Ladies this week. Hinckley started off strong with lots of energy and excellent interceptions creating end-to-end play to finish the first half 19-5 up.

As the match wore on they began to tire, making unforced errors in the third quarter and possession going back and forth with each side scoring three goals.

However Hinckley came back strong again in the final quarter and although injury meant Claire Mawson had to call time on her strong game at wing defence, Hinckley finished winners at 30-14. Player of the match went to Katie Eaves for her amazing versatility at centre, goal attack, goal shooter and wing defence.

Hinckley’s H team had a great game against Godiva on Wednesday night winning 27-9. Sam Davis was awarded player of the match as goal shooter after scoring some fantastic goals alongside both Alex Boudier and Milly Hemus who both played goal attack.

The team started off strong taking an early lead in the first quarter managing to hold off Godiva to only one goal.

Though more closely matched in the second quarter the Hs got their heads down and brought home a convincing victory in the last two quarters.