Dominant display of netball by Hinckley A
HINCKLEY A turned up raring to go for their 3pm game on Saturday, against a very experienced Copsewood side. The team knew that they were going to have to go up against a second opposition as well - the wind. Fortunately, with lots of practice at training and perfecting the short, sharp passes, Hinckley took the lead from the off and remained calm throughout.
Some excellent defence all over the court led to countless turnovers, which were converted straight to goals by the sharp shooters. Hinckley A took the win by 56-26 and the opposition’s umpire commented on the skill and fluidity of the game played by Hinckley’s A team.
Player of the match went to Jess Rainbow, her strong, quick passes and tight marking helped the team gain the epic goal difference of 30 goals.
• Hinckley B played away against Rugby Ladies on Saturday and needed a win to keep them contending for a higher spot in the table.
The first quarter was a closeknit affair, both teams making minor mistakes but neither completely capitalising to make any big difference to the score. Beth Thurairajah and Katie Phillips worked well together bringing the ball through the court with speed and precision.
After 15 minutes the score reflected the determination from both teams with a 9-9 score line. After a team talk in quarter time,
Hinckley came out composed and determined. The defensive pressure of Caron Ogden, Beth Willars and Lucy Chapman was a force to be reckoned with and they turned the ball over, time after time, allowing the attack more chances to score.
With Hinckley forcing the errors from Rugby, it gave the shooting combination of Carol Payne and Lucy Marsden the opportunity to score with accuracy. The first quarter aside, Hinckley played with composure and patience throughout the game enabling them to end the match with a 46-29 win. POM went to Lucy Marsden.
• The C team played two matches this week. Monday (January 31), saw the C team take on Cherry Bombs for a rearranged game. It was a dark evening, but the C team arrived prepared and ready to face a tough Cherry bombs team. The team worked tirelessly together in the first quarter which ended in a draw. The C team stuck with their game plan settling down into the second quarter which saw them pull away with a twogoal lead. At half time they regained focus and came out fighting with a fantastic third quarter. The game finished 29-26 to the Hinckley C team. POM went to Chloe Phillips for her fantastic play and shooting.
Saturday (February 5) brought the C’s second fixture of the week against Alec High.
Both teams fought hard in the first quarter to stamp their authority on the game, although
Hinckley just had the edge at the end of the first quarter leading by five goals (11-6) with the Hinckley shooters getting some great shots in.
The second half saw the Hinckley defence turn up the pressure on the Alec High attack, with countless interception’s that were causing problems for the opposition, all over the court.
By the end of the third quarter Hinckley were leading 28-20 and continued their good form in the final quarter, with solid play from both attack and defence resulting in a 35-23 victory to Hinckley. Player of the match went to Goal Attack Millie Davies.
• Hinckley D team braved the cold and wind against Alvis D on Saturday. Hinckley started off well, but Alvis quickly took back the lead and kept building on it finishing the first half with Hinckley down 23-12.
With some changes to the line up, the D team got in the flow with Madison Seller at Centre earning player of the match with her energy and consistent drives getting the ball down the court for Jen Paulley and Madeline Hanley to get the goals in, but it wasn’t quite enough with Hinckley D narrowly lost 33-30.
• Hinckley E were down a couple of players this week and drafted some from the F Team to help make up squad numbers meaning a reshuffle on court was needed.
Hinckley started rather unsettled and failed to adapt to the windy conditions persisting with long balls down court. These were soon picked up on by the opposition resulting in Hinckley falling behind.
A regroup and few positional changes allowed Hinckley to regain focus and work on executing basics to the best of our abilities and driving onto passes with intent, minimising the deficits in the final two quarters. Donna, from the F Team, received POM after an incredible display and endless energy through court. Special mention to defensive duo of Helen Jaggers and Derry O’Neill who also managed to adapt quickly to the strong attack of Cov & NW and worked well as a team to limit their opportunities but they couldn’t avoid a 35-13 defeat.
It was never going to be an easy match for Hinckley F with six players against Earlsdon Highway.
Initially Hinckley’s F team made the decision to strengthen defence to minimise goals scored against them. Unfortunately, they still found themselves 13-0 down after the first quarter. A change of strategy in an attempt to get some goals on the score sheet worked in the second quarter and raised the F team’s spirits.
They stuck to this strategy for the rest of the game but were unable to capitalise on goals scored. The final score 52-12 does not reflect the hard work of the defence pairing of Katie Talbot and Becky Hamilton, with Becky getting voted POM. Overall, a difficult match for all, despite their best efforts.