The Saints go marching in as new season kicks off
Paisley sides show lots of positives during opening-day fixtures
St Mirren Netball is back with a bang as all three of the Paisley club’s sides kicked-off the new season.
Saints One took to the court on Wednesday against Saltires and produced a thrilling display to earn a 44-44 draw.
The match was full of momentum swings, with the Saltires getting the first lead of the game.
But Sarah O’Connell and Bronwyn Powell worked hard to win the ball back for their side and helped to keep the margin down to single figures.
It was a nervous start for the first team as they tried out some new attacking and defensive pairings. But the Saints settled into the game after 10 minutes and the shooting combination of Stephanie Barr and Caroline Rodger saw them hit back.
There were some great periods of play from the Saints and as the action swung from end to end, both teams had to stay on their toes.
The Saltires led by two goals by the end of the third quarter but the action wasn’t over just yet.
With some good netball being played by both camps, the final quarter remained even, with the Saltires scoring the equaliser to tie the game up at 44-all.
Congratulations go to Susie Reid for receiving player of the match, and to Sarah O’Connell on player’s player of the match.
Elsewhere, following their preseason preparation, a revamped and confident St Mirren Two team took to the court against Scotstoun.
A tightly-contested first quarter saw excellent defensive pressure from the Saints and great teamwork across all aspects of their attack.
At quarter time the Saints found themselves down by one goal and the pressure was on as they showed the hunger to fightback.
Joanne Cloney – on her debut – and Geraldine Smith, linked up beautifully to ensure the Saints remained competitive in the second quarter.
The strong play continued in the second half of the match, with some excellent interceptions from Vicki Pringle and Emma High.
However, the Saints failed to capitalise on their strong pieces of play to take the lead.
Although the game finished 40-28 in favour of Scotstoun, the Saints looked like a new team and appeared a more than worthy opponent in the match against a strong outfit. Well done to Joanne Cloney in receiving both awards for player of the match and player’s player.
And there was also a piece of history as St Mirren Three, the club’s newest side, took to the court for the first time this season. However, they succumbed to a 39-25 defeat to Sapphires Two.
This was only the Saints’ second game together since forming and while they have lots to learn, they are coming on leaps and bounds.
It was a first competitive game for several of the squad and most were plagued by nerves.
But the defence played a stormer and worked well bringing the ball down the court.
Heather Dickson showed great abilities and was voted player’s player lof the match, although this was very closely contested.
The Saints tried hard to put into practice everything that their coach had been teaching them in training so the signs are encouraging.
Centre court played tirelessly, bringing the ball down for the shooters who worked hard. Karen Halbert achieved a shooting average of 100 per cent.