York Firsts faced a Hull First team who are currently two leagues above them. Having succumbed to a ten point defeat in a friendly match between the teams on Friday, York knew they were in for an uphill battle, despite there being many positives UYNC could take from the game.
Despite some moments of excellence created by fluid centre court play, York started shakily and as the game progressed Hull began to assert their dominance.The considerable height advantage Hull possessed caused havoc for Nina Pullman and Lottie Knight, resulting in Hull leading the contest comfortably as the teams ended the first quarter.
Hull continued to play to their strengths, looping balls into their Goal Shooter, who rarely missed a shot. However, York’s shooters were not far behind, with Georgia Neblett leading the attack with a ‘player of the match’ performance. Arguably, it was a battle of the shooters up until this point. Hull widened their lead in the second quarter, showing no signs of tiring, and creating a half time advantage of 29-19.
The third quarter saw a tactical change from captain Rebecca O’Dwyer, putting herself as Wing Defence and moving Charlotte Ferris to Centre. There was a tense moment when Lisa Griffiths collided with her opposition and was unfortunately forced to leave the game prematurely. Amy Moye, a Second team player and York’s player of the tournament, boldly stepped up to the mark in her place and seemed unfazed by the daunting task ahead of her, making excellent attacking moves and shooting consistently.Charlotte Ferris, having moved to centre, was now on top form, making sweeping interceptions and causing chaos in the Hull attack.
Entering the final quarter with a ten goal lead, Hull seemed poised to clinch their first netball victory of the day. Heads remained high on the York team however, and, with the help of a large supporting crowd, began to pull back the goals. Excellent shooting from Georgia Neblett was aided by superb feeding and controlled attacking play by Bronwen Dalley Smith. A sense of urgency developed in York’s game with outstanding defensive play by Nina Pullman and Lottie Knight, making brilliant interceptions at crucial moments. By the final whistle York had managed to bring the gap to a mere two goals and appeared by far the more dominant and spirited team.
O’Dwyer said she ‘couldn’t have been more proud of the team’, commending them on their ‘fighting spirit and one hundred percent effort right up until the final whistle’ and believed their performance against a team two tiers above in the league was ‘a testament to the whole teams attitude and dedication to the club’. She continues ‘It’s games like these that make me proud to be part of such a great club and the support the other teams gave us’.
Vision MOTM: Georgia Neblett