After a crushing eight goal defeat to Sunderland last week, York were eager to prove their worth, and they did just that. York thrashed Sunderland 43- 16 in their best performance of the season. Every player on the court excelled and this team seems to have finally gelled together.
York began as they meant to go on, with goals continuously flying into the net. Despite receiving a bad injury from Sunday’s Varsity game, Lisa Griffiths was on top form, giving Sunderland’s Super League player a very hard time. In the defensive circle, the Goal Attack, who had caused the defence havoc last week, looked unsettled. York’s defensive duo, Lottie Knight and Nina Pullman, consistently intercepted balls into the circle, and won every rebound. York finished the quarter 11-2 and a win was certainly on the cards.
After a motivating talk from Captain, Rebecca O’Dwyer, York were adamant that they were not going to become complacent. Bronwen Dalley- Smith and Rebecca O’Dwyer continued to feed consistent balls into the shooters who rarely missed a shot. Most notably, Dalley Smith managed to intercept balls from Sunderland backlines, which gave York even more chances to score. York went into half time confident that they had a win under their belts.
A half time change switching Rebecca O’ Dwyer to Wing Defence and Charlotte Ferris to Centre, ensured that York’s impressive performance was continued. Ferris and O’ Dwyer worked well together, pressuring Sunderland Centre Passes and overturning centre court play. Sunderland looked tired and deflated by this point, and their Super League player appeared to almost give up.
York did not look tired going into the last quarter and with Sunderland’s Super League Player being taken off, a win was imminent. Despite consistent contact from the Sunderland Goal Keeper, Georgia Neblett’s shooting did not suffer, and she continued her spectacular performance from Varsity. York finished the game 43-16 and every player on the York side deserved the win.
Rebecca O’ Dwyer was ‘extremely proud’ of her team’s remarkable performance and ‘wished’ that they had come together like this before the end of the season. She gave testament to York’s ‘unrelenting spirit’ and believes that they can go to greater heights next season.
Vision MOTM: Bronwen Dalley Smith.