By George Liley
A spirited effort from York Netball 3rds saw them narrowly beaten by Sheffield Hallam 3rds in an enthralling encounter on Wednesday. Previous meetings suggested that the travellers would be comfortable victors, however York have clearly grown as a team and their performance against a strong Hallam side suggests that they could be serious contenders for the league next year.Hallam started brightly with their goal-attack Williamson firing them into a 0-3 lead early on, however York responded well with Georgia Neblett playing a key role as centre, orchestrating the York attack. Rhia Stevens-Leach took a few attempts to find her range, but soon began to exhibit the clinical finishing that earned her player of the match at Varsity last weekend. After her first point Stevens-Leach found impressive form and was able to score consistently with good support from goal-attack Amy Moll. Tess Webb in goal-defence made some critical interceptions; however Hallam’s forwards Moss and Williamson were looking dangerous and were able to put Hallam 5-10 up. An impressive spell from the resilient York at the end of the half saw Neblett combining well with Stevens-Leach, who whilst scoring for York created openings and assisted Amy Moll, to ensure the home-side were only a point away after the first quarter with the score at 9-10.
York appeared to have the edge at the beginning of the second quarter, as Hallam’s Moss looked tentative early on and struggled to convert her early chances, which were dealt with swiftly by Lottie Knight in defence. The quarter however soon saw end to end action with Moss and Williamson converting for Hallam, whilst Stevens-Leach and Moll found success for York. Hallam’s centre Meakin was able to tighten her grip on the game however, and some well constructed attacks saw her side 12-16 up. York never lost sight of their opponents, and some fine finishing from Stevens-Leach before the half-time whistle gave Hallam a nervy 4 point lead at 14-18.
The third quarter witnessed some fine defending early on from Knight whilst Neblett found success with long-ranged passes to the York forwards. The introduction of Eliza Ackland had an immediate impact too as she found good shooting form for York. Hallam however had a strong spell midway through the quarter, with their wing-defence Chipps finding Moss up top who consistently scored to widen their lead. The Moss-Williamson partnership for Hallam looked deadly, and Hallam found themselves 16-28 up with minutes to go of the quarter. A nasty injury to York’s Ackland put a dampener on the game, however York were able to find success later in the quarter to put the score at 20-29.
The final quarter witnessed a great effort from the York side, as their attacks increased in pace and variety in order to find a way through the Hallam defence. Stevens-Leach was pivotal up front and worked well with wing-attack Jess Roberts, whilst Moss replaced the injured Ackland and continued where she left off with some fine shooting. Hallam’s lead however was too large a task for the injury stricken York, and some fine finishing from Moss and Williamson ensured the final score line read 25-38.
York 3rds have come flying out of Varsity with some serious form, and their determined fight against a strong Hallam side showed that they are very much a team on the up. With their influential captain Kate Copson out injured, York 3rds exhibited true grit in a performance that suggests great promise for the future, particularly the striking form in which Stevens-Leach currently finds herself. Once again her efforts earned her player of the match and she is certainly one to watch in the future. Copson commented on her sides determined effort, stating “we really have improved vastly when comparing this performance to our last match against Hallam. We all consider this performance an achievement in itself, we battled until the very end and we are all really pleased with how things are going”.