York 1sts kept their promotion dream alive with a 45-39 win over Leeds Met 4ths on Wednesday.
York had a fairly shaky start, with Leeds rarely missing a goal and play frantic at times, making a win far from certain. Yet, after the first few minutes York settled into the game and they began to dominate. Resilient defence arguably kept York in the game.
Unbelievable interceptions by Georgia Neblett, playing out of position at GD, struck fear in the Leeds attack. The quarter finished 10- 7 to Leeds and there was still much to play for.
York started much better in the second quarter and slowly gained a lead. Confident play by Bronwen Dalley-Smith and Amy Moye ensured that York made use of turnovers by the defence. Most notably, Dalley-Smith’s speed kept York’s game at a higher level than that of Leeds and she often ran rings around her opponent. With the team finally settled into the game, the score was 21-17 to York.
The third quarter was most certainly York’s strongest quarter. Every player dug deep and fought for every ball. Strong play by both Lucy Daymond and Holly Dixson ensured that York controlled the centre court. Daymond orchestrated play from the defence to the attack and was unrelenting in effort.
At the attacking end, Emma Loft beamed with confidence as she put balls into the net with ease and York looked certain for a win. The quarter finished 36-23 and all York had to do was hold onto the lead.
The last quarter started well with York continuing their dominance from the previous quarter. Lottie Knight and Neblett kept the Leeds attack quiet with the centre court struggling to feed balls to their shooters.
However, York began to show signs of tiredness and this led play to be slightly messy. With no subs, as Charlotte Ferris and Nina Pullman are injured, they had to dig deep to guarantee three points. York did just that and the quarter ended 45-39 to a resilient York team.
Captain, Nina Pullman commented: “Despite an injury from our centre court player Charlotte Ferris in warm up, putting us off slightly, the girls played some top class netball and showed us to be the dominant side, especially in the third quarter.” Clearly, this York team have a lot of potential and as long as injuries are kept at bay, promotion could be very well in their sights.
Vision Player of the Match: Bronwen Dalley- Smith