Loungers and Team Rowley joint leaders in netball top flight

Loungers and Team Rowley share the lead at the top of netball’s first division after a narrow win for the former. In the second division Supernova overcame Mishaps, only to be undone themselves by Challengers who in turn lost to Unst. Hotfooters stretched their lead in the third division with a win over Scalloway Juniors.

Division One

Loungers 31, Team Rowley 28

Team Rowley took to the court switched on and ready for action. Their slick passing through attack and accurate shooting from duo Marie Clark and Lisa Morrison saw them take an early lead. Loungers were making unforced errors which were getting snapped up by the Rowley defence and converted into goals. The first quarter ended 10-5 to Rowley.

A switch in defence and the addition of Julie Grant at WD saw Loungers raise their game. Inga Woods (C) and Hazel Uren (WA) worked tirelessly on the edge of the circle for Loungers to feed accurate balls into their shooters who were being worked hard by the Rowley defence of Fiona Dally and Maisie Unsworth. At the other end of the court Rowley’s Karen MacKay (C) and Julie Kirkness (WA) were working equally hard to feed their shooters. A very evenly matched quarter saw Loungers pull one goal back but Rowley still led 17-13 at half time.

Loungers dominated the third quarter, working well as a team. The defensive unit of Diane Thomson (WD), Vicki Henderson (GD) and Louise Moar (GK) completely disrupted the flow of the Rowley attack leaving their shooters with limited opportunities, subsequently leading to only one goal being netted by Team Rowley the whole quarter. Effortless attacking play and superb shooting from Claire Young and Stella Oldbury in the Loungers circle saw the game completely change with Loungers now leading going into the final quarter 21-18.

Rowley were not going to sit back and accept defeat as they came out fighting in the last quarter and upped their game to try and steal back the lead. Both teams desperately wanted the win and worked hard in defence and attack. Loungers held their nerve and the lead to come away with the win with the game ending 31-28.

Player of the match for Loungers was GS Claire Young and for Team Rowley was GD Maisie Unsworth.

Division Two

Mishaps 39, Supernova 43

Mishaps met Supernova for the first time this season. Supernova won the first centre and this turned quickly into their first goal. Both teams were determined to take the lead through out this quarter, although Supernova pulled ahead, ending the first quarter 9-12.

The second quarter saw some particularly good defending from both Lindsay Manson (GK) and Kara Thomson (GD) however Marianne Williamson (GS) and Liz Haining (GA) were showing some excellent shooting skills and were able to push their accurate shooting through keeping Supernova in the lead ending the second quarter 18-23.

The third quarter saw Gayle Henry (GA) and Leane Tait (GS) of Mishaps find their stride and fight hard against Supernova’s defence of Emma Rose (GD) and Jenny Wylie (GK) who were defending very well. Mishaps made a few changes this quarter with Rona Simpson (WD) making her first appearance for Mishaps – Rona defended well in this quarter and accurate passing from Mishaps centre court players in particular Lara Thomason (C) helped Mishaps catch up, but Supernova still remained in the lead.

Mishaps came out fighting in the final quarter and tried hard to close the gap on Supernova. Ann-Marie Goudie (C) and Suzanne Manson (WA) linked well and had some good accurate passing around the circle and in to the Mishaps shooting duo. It looked like Mishaps may make a come back but Supernova linked very well up and down the court and managed to keep their lead ending the game 39-43.

Player of the match for Mishaps was Gayle Henry (GA) and Emma Rose (GD) for Supernova.

Supernova 21 v Challengers 36

Challengers stormed into an early lead in their first match of the season against Supernova, with some fantastic passes up the court and linking play in to Louise Johnson (GA) who effortlessly converted them into goals. By the end of the first quarter Challengers had a strong goal lead, 5-13.

The next two quarters saw Supernova struggle to find their feet, with some poor passing and missed opportunities. Challengers seized on this and increased their lead to 14-32 at the end of the third quarter.

After a few key changes to their team, Supernova suddenly found their footing with some great shooting from Liz Haining (GA) and Marianne Williamson (GS). Unfortunately it was too late to be of any threat to Challengers, but they did manage to secure enough goals to get half points. The score at the final whistle was 21-36.

Players of the match were Emma Rose-Hayes (GD) for Supernova and Louise Johnson (GA) for Challengers. Thanks also to Vicki Henderson and Kirsti Leask for umpiring.

Challengers 22, Unst 33

Players of the match were Natalie Polson (GD) for Challengers and Martha Clark (GD) for Unst.

Division Three

Scalloway Juniors 15, Hotfooters 34

Scalloway got off to a good start scoring the first two goals but it was Hotfooters who set the pace of the game and once they were underway soon took the lead. It was 10-4 after the first quarter.

Hotfooters continued to dominate through strong play in mid court and by half time had increased their lead to 18-6.

Hotfooters welcomed back Hannah Manson returning after injury to the WD position for the second half. Scalloway began to hold possession better with Rowan Nicolson and Julie Brown battling hard in the attack. Also Kayleigh Mouat in defence began to get to grips with the rebounds denying Hotfooters several further scoring chances. But on the night Hotfooters were just too strong winning by 34-15.

Rowan Nicolson was voted player of the match for Scalloway with Lauren Odie picking up the award for Hotfooters.

Da Hooligans 28, Scallywags 27

The game started with quick end to end play, with the Da Hooligans defence of Lara Kay and Nicola Polson keeping the Scallywags shooters at bay. This resulted in Da Hooligans taking a 7-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter started with changes made to both teams. Good linking between Holly Jamieson and Zoe Irvine made it difficult for the Scallywags to intercept, but determination from their defence enabled them to make vital interceptions. This made it difficult for Da Hooligans to get the ball to the circle. The quarter ended with Scallywags closing the gap in the score, leaving it 11-11 at half time.

Both teams came on determined to take the lead in the third quarter. Crucial interceptions were made by Da Hooligans WD Abbey Irvine. Although passes between the Scallywags were intercepted they managed to take the lead at the end of the quarter. This left the score at 19-20.

The final quarter started with both teams aiming to win. The Scallywags defence intercepted many passes between Da Hooligans. This meant Da Hooligans had to be more accurate when passing to the shooters. Accurate shooting from Valerie Sales and Rhea Kay left the score 28-27 in Da Hooligans favour at the end of the game.