Unst bring Hotfooters’ winning run to an end in netball second division

Hotfooters’ good run came to an end in division two of the netball leagues with the leaders going down to Unst, while Wastside defeated Mishaps. Da McEwans picked up two wins in the third division while there was also a victory for Ness.

Division One
(Sponsored by SLNA)

Loungers v Team Rowley

This game was postponed.

Division Two
(Ocean Kinetics)

Wastside 52, Mishaps 31

This match started out even with both teams getting goal for goal. Mishaps started to lose their stride and the Wastside shooting duo Catherine Henry and Mhairi Moncrieff were on form and rarely missed a shot resulting in Wastside taking the lead 12-7.

Wastside continued to play well in the second quarter with some great centre court play. Erica Mikolajczak was playing excellently at centre and linking well with Lindsay Morrison who worked endlessly. Mishaps just could not find their feet and Wastside steamed ahead 29-14.

The third quarter was very similar with the Wastside shooters working well together and never missing a goal so they continued to keep the lead at 44-21.

In the fourth quarter Mishaps finally started to play like themselves again and shooters Leane Tait and Gayle Henry worked so well together and were fighting for every ball to try and get the goals back. Although Mishaps scored more goals than Wastside during the quarter it was not enough to take the lead on the Wastside girls who had an excellent game.

Players of the match were Erica Mikolajczak for Wastside and Leane Tait for Mishaps.

Unst 34, Hootfooters 25

The game started well for both teams with the centre court players keeping the ball moving towards the shooters. Liza Fullerton’s accurate shooting kept Hotfooters level with Unst and with both teams defending well the first quarter ended 9-9.

Lauren Odie’s speed in centre court challenged Unst’s defensive play but Unst’s players began to find their feet with Jane Macaulay pushing the ball up court to their shooters. Unst’s tight defence kept Hotfooters at bay during the second quarter which ended 17-11.

Unst’s Claire Priest did well for Unst with her ability to shoot from anywhere in the circle but Iona Holmes was quick to pick up the rebounds and turn the play around. At the other end the Hotfooters attack gathered pace in the third quarter to get around Unst’s defence with Haley Tulloch moving well in the circle. The quarter ended 26-17.

Unst managed to keep up their rhythm in the last quarter and Linda Thomson showed she was back on form with snappy interceptions proving hard for Hotfooters to contend with.

Despite Hotfooters’ determined and tactical play the game ended 34-25.

Players of the match were Unst’s Linda Thomson and Hotfooters’ Iona Holmes.

Division Three
(Evelyn Rae)

Da McEwans 42, Scalloway Juniors 25

Both teams started very slowly and took time to settle with end to end scrappy play dictating the match for a while.

The first goal was eventually scored after four minutes by Sonya Shearer of Da McEwans and this seemed to settle both teams and scoring began at both ends.

Scalloway Juniors dominated the second quarter as Lois Gray and Kirsty Uttley fed super balls in to Rowan Nicholson and Rachel Young, who converted most of their shots into goals, giving them a one-goal lead at half time.

Da McEwans came out fighting in the third quarter and slowly began to take control of the match, with Deborah Mowat in particular standing out in mid-court, and Shona Moncrieff making a welcome return to the side after maternity leave.

Although the Scalloway Juniors battled hard to the end, Da McEwans were just too strong and went on to win convincingly.

Scallywags 32, Ness 26

Ness won the first centre of the game and were very quick to settle into what was to be a very fast quarter between the two teams.

Scallywags were trying to keep up with the Ness’s fast pace and were soon finding that many of their passes were being intercepted. It was not long before the scoring opened and both teams were matching goal for goal with accurate shooting but it was Ness who went into the second quarter leading 6-7.

With the second quarter under way, Scallywags were still unsettled and losing many of their passes to Ness who were using this to their advantage. Ness were linking well in their attacking court with Claire Farmer and Megan Smith providing excellent support around the circle for shooters Elizabeth Williamson and Caroline Wood who were rarely missing their shoots, making Scallywags’ Laura Saunders and Naomi Johnson work tirelessly in defence.

Scallywags were also linking up well with excellent passing between Gwen Malcolmson and Joy Duncan through to Anne-Marie Robinson and Cyndi Pottinger who despite being marked very closely by Ness’s Ruth Christie and Gina Scanlan were finding the net with their shooting. As this quarter finished the score was tied at 13-13.

With the scores tied, both teams knew they had everything to play for which signalled another fast, end-to-end quarter. By now Scallywags were settling well into this quarter which saw great linking play in centre court between Malcolmson and Duncan through to shooters Robinson and Pottinger.

Ness were defending very well and making life very difficult for the Scallywags shooters but despite this Scallywags’ Pottinger was on form and finding her long range shots on target. It was Scallywags who went into the final quarter with a lead 21-20.

With the last quarter under way, Scallywags knew they had everything to play for and gave this quarter everything they had to give. Both teams were fighting hard for every ball, interception and rebound which saw a very exciting quarter.

Scallywags were proving to be the stronger of the two sides and were producing great play through their centre court up into their attacking circle where their shooters were rarely missing the shots.

Ness never gave up and were on every ball to get play up into their attacking circle where their shooters were on form as well. However, it was Scallywags’ sheer determination and accurate shooting that lead them to win the game. Players of the match were Anne-Marie Robinson of Scallywags and Ashley Young of Ness.

Da McEwans 43, Da Hooligans 29

Da McEwans were the first team to settle with some strong linking in the centre court. Da Hooligans defenders worked tirelessly but were unable to prevent Da McEwans pulling ahead. The first quarter ended 11-6 to Da McEwans.

Da McEwans defence duo (Diane and Dianne Irvine) were on their toes and made it difficult for Da Hooligans shooters to get their hands on the ball. This helped Da McEwans increase their lead to 22-9 at half time.

However, this did not dampen Da Hooligans’ spirit and Zoe Irvine worked speedily in the centre court during the third quarter. She worked well with her team and fed some swift balls into Da Hooligans shooters, who shot well. The score at the end of the third quarter was 33-19 to Da McEwans.

The fourth quarter continued in a good manner. Da McEwans responded well to the pressure and dug deep to protect their lead.

Players of the match were Diane Irvine for Da McEwans and Zoe Irvine for Da Hooligans.