York 2nds fought valiantly in their first game of 2013 yesterday, narrowly missing out against a strong Leeds 4ths team by 29 goals to 33.
After a brief warm up, both sides powered onto the court. With end to end goals, the match was set to be an exciting one from the onset. The Yorkshire defence dominated the Leeds attacking circle, grabbing every rebound and capitalising on Leeds missed chances to take the lead. Captain Elissa Bryan portrayed her agility and speed, dominating the centre court with some fast and accurate passes into the attacking circle. The first quarter finished with the teams neck and neck at six goals apiece.
The second quarter proved a difficult one for York. In spite of some excellent interceptions from York’s goal keeper, Carrie Green, the girls struggled to capitalise on their turnovers. The strength of the Leeds defence forced York to make a few unforced errors which cost them their initial impressive run of goals. At half time the Leeds side had pulled ahead to 17 goals to 11.
A substitution at half time, injured wing defence Diana Webber being replaced by Rachel Turner, sparked a shift in favour of York. With the girl’s spirits lifted and some fantastic accurate shooting from Amy Moll and Sarah Pickup, the York side scored the first six goals of the second half, propelling them back into contention for the win.
The girls were evenly matched down court throughout the third quarter, contesting for every ball. With encouragement from the sideline from Samantha Hall, the York girls demonstrated glimpses of brilliant timing and movement up court.
Despite winning the second half, the York girls were unable to pull back the deficit of goals. They fought valiantly until the last few minutes, threatening the Leeds side as they slowly pulled back to within one goal. York battled bravely, chasing down every loose ball and displaying strong team spirit to remain focused all the way up the court.
York captain Elissa Bryan commented after the match that it was “a disappointing result after finishing last term on such a high. It is also a fatal blow to our promotion hopes. However, the team fought together until the end and everyone put in an incredible effort. We won’t dwell on this game but will move forward more determined to win the next.” The York girls are excited for their home fixture against top of the league Newcastle next week, and hope to bounce back from this defeat.