Kinetics, Loungers and Rowley victorious in netball

Kinetics, Loungers and Team Rowley all had wins in the first division of the netball leagues, while in the lower divisions there were victories for Da McEwans and Scallywags while Ness and Tingwall could not be separated.

Division One

Kinetics 33, AHS 26

The game started at a fast pace for both teams. End-to-end play resulted in a low-scoring quarter with both teams trying to find their feet and settle into the game. Kinetics were just in the lead at the end of the quarter at 6-4.

In the second quarter the young AHS team managed to gain control with some quick and accurate passing and defending. Kinetics struggled to keep up and made unnecessary mistakes which the AHS girls took advantage of, resulting in them taking the lead at half time at 13-12.

After half time both teams made changes to their line-up. This was the best quarter for Kinetics as they stepped up a gear and were linking well with each other, resulting in shooters Kirsti Leask and Debbie Smith converting their shots. Kinetics’ determination meant at the end of the third quarter the were 25-18 ahead.

The final quarter was an even affair with both teams scoring eight goals. Kinetics seemed calmer after gaining the lead in the previous quarter but were not going to let their guard down and were keen to stay ahead. Players of the match were Andrea Tait for Kinetics and Iona Holmes for AHS.

Unst 14, Loungers 37

The first match of the season for both teams started at a quick pace with the ball flying up and down the court. The first four goals went against the centre and the game looked set to be a good battle. However, the Loungers game play settled quickest and they started to dominate. Stella Oldbury seemed to get her eye in straight away and she was popping them in from all over the circle, the quarter ending at 11-3.

The second quarter saw great defence from both teams. Martha Clark and Linda Thomson for Unst worked hard to keep the ball from getting to the Loungers shooters and any loose ball was quickly passed up the court.

Unfortunately Unst struggled to convert these chances, finding it hard to feed the ball into their own circle due to some great blocking from Victoria Duthie and Jennifer Thomson. Loungers extended the lead to 19-6 by half time.

The third quarter saw Unst move Linda Thomson up the court to GA, which sped up their play in the attacking third. Unluckily they still couldn’t find the net and again only managed three goals.

Loungers continued to play well, their passing flowed freely up and down the court. In particular Inga Woods for Loungers was always well placed for the next pass and did some excellent feeding into the shooting circle. The score was 27-9 going into the last quarter.

Unst were unfazed by the score and came out determined to make it a good match to the end. Some great rebounds from Andrea Laurenson in defence gave Unst some extra chances to try and decrease the Loungers lead. However, with their consistent, good passing they continued to dominate play, topped off by more accurate shooting from Oldbury.

Players of the match were Martha Clark for Unst and Inga Woods for Loungers.

Team Rowley 49, Challengers 9

Team Rowley got off to a quick start whereas Challengers were missing a few of their regular first team and had to draft in some players with a lengthy break from the first division.

The Rowley defence of Maisie Unsworth and Brenda Leask were making frequent interceptions which were swiftly being taken up court to shooter Lisa Morrison who barely missed. The first quarter score was 18-2 to Team Rowley.

The second quarter was Challengers’ best. Maree Simpson and Marie Irvine were combining well in defence and Catherine Williamson was steady as always in centre court, supporting both shooters and defenders. Unfortunately it was not enough to stop Team Rowley who were continuing to work well as a unit. At half time the score stood at 27-6.

Both teams made changes at half time but unfortunately for Challengers the changes did little to slow Team Rowley’s scoring opportunities. Both teams were working hard but Team Rowley came out on top. Interceptions were being made in all areas of the court and successfully converted into goals. It was 36-7 to Team Rowley at the end of the third quarter.

Team Rowley dominated the fourth quarter. Challengers never gave up, to their credit, but could do little to prevent goals. Morrison’s shooting was incredibly accurate and the whole team were working hard to limit mistakes and get the ball into the Rowley circle.

The scoreline did not accurately reflect the effort put in by Challengers who never gave up trying the whole match. Team Rowley, however, worked well together as a team and shot accurately.

Players of the match were Lisa Morrison for Team Rowley and Marie Irvine for Challengers.

Division Two

Supernova 38, Da McEwans 44

This was the first match for both teams and it started with some fast and frantic play. However, they both soon settled down and played some great netball, with both sides marking tightly and fighting for every stray ball. Da McEwans shooters were on excellent form and at the end of the first quarter they were 9-7 ahead.

Da McEwans stomped through the second quarter while Supernova struggled to close the gap. Joanne Stewart and Sonya Shearer were unstoppable in the shooting circle with excellent mid-court play by Eileen Sandison, Allison Williamson and Vicki Irvine. By the end of the second quarter Da McEwans had increased the lead to 27-16.

Supernova came on court determined to fight back and with strong defensive play by Stephanie Keith, Laura Guthrie and Jenny Wylie, while Marianne Williamson and Helen Mathewson worked tirelessly around the shooting circle, feeding balls into shooting duo Christine Jamieson and Liz Haining.

However, despite all their hard work Da McEwans were working equally hard to make sure they maintained the lead. There was a 10-goal difference in their favour at the end of the third quarter at 36-26.

Supernova came out determined to claw back some goals in the fourth and final quarter but Da McEwans, sensing a win was within their grasp, defended furiously. With Joanne Stewart rarely missing a goal they managed to maintain the lead.

Players of the match were Helen Mathewson for Supernova and Joanne Stewart for Da McEwans.

Division Three

Ness 22, Tingwall 22

Ness began their opening match with the first centre pass. The play was fast and strong from both teams with close defending by both goalkeepers and defenders. Ness goal attack Caroline Wood produced some excellent shots from the edge of the circle and the score of 5-5 at the end of the first quarter reflected how even the game was.

Both teams made a few changes for the second quarter and although the teams were evenly matched, strong defending from Ness meant they pulled ahead early. However, Tingwall defender Kayti Jeromson intercepted several Ness passes in the circle and at the end of the quarter Ness had a narrow lead at 11-10.

Tingwall’s determined play produced some excellent passing in this quarter. Their defence again made things difficult for Ness in the circle as they intercepted every high pass. The Ness defence continued to put on the pressure but Tingwall attacked well, gained the lead and finished the quarter 17-16 ahead.

The fast and exciting play continued in the last quarter with both teams aware there was everything to play for. Tingwall continued to produce accurate passes to their circle. They gained the advantage in the last few minutes and started to pull ahead. This produced a very tense last few seconds as Ness determinedly fought to the end to equalise the game at 22-22.

This was a very even match throughout with both teams working hard to win interceptions. The play was fast, exciting and physical.

Players of the match were defenders Ailish Parham for Ness and Kayti Jeromson  for Team Tingwall.

Scallywags 41, Dutch Courage 9

Dutch Courage won the first centre pass and were soon feeding their passes up to their shooters who were unlucky not to open the scoring.

Scallywags were quick to settle and were linking up well in their centre court with accurate passing between Gwen Malcolmson and Nicola Smith into Anne-Marie Robinson and Cyndi Pottinger whose shots were on target despite being closely defended by Jamie Cowie and Gemma Webb. As the first quarter came to a close it was Scallywags who led 7-0.

With the second quarter under way Scallywags dominated most of the play with accurate passing in their mid-court through to their shooters who were rarely missing. Dutch Courage never gave up and were also linking up well with Kate Wills and Vaila Pearson feeding passes into their shooters.

Scallywags Naomi Johnson and Debbie Morgan were working well in defence to keep them from scoring and were fast on the rebounds. As the half time whistle went it was Scallywags who were leading 20-6.

In the third quarter Scallywags proved to be the stronger of the two teams with Malcolmson and Jackie Cameron linking up well together and feeding in accurate passes to Robinson and Pottinge who rarely missed.

Halfway through this quarter Scallywags lost Malcolmson due to injury and had to make changes in their line-up. This seemed to rattle the players and Dutch Courage used this to their advantage, but as the whistle went Scallywags went into the last quarter leading 27-7.

Scallywags were quick to settle in the last quarter and were playing a very fast accurate passing game with their shooters getting their shots on target, making Dutch Courage work tirelessly in defence to keep them from scoring. Dutch Courage never gave up but it was Scallywags who proved to be the stronger.

Players of the match were Gwen Malcolmson for Scallywags and Kate Wills for Dutch Courage.