Netball team through to Scottish Cup knockout competition

The Shetland senior women’s netball team has made it to the knockout stages of the Scottish Cup, following a qualifying tournament in Edinburgh at the weekend.

The team finished second in a four-team group, with two victories over Glasgow sides, which was good enough to take them through. The games were all played at the Oriam Sports Complex at Heriot Watt University.

Shetland went down 27-16 to Edinburgh-based Onyx in their first match, but bounced back in fine style to defeat Harmony Row 19-8 and Bella Houston 2 29-19.

Second place in the group was the position the team had aimed towards and it secured them a place in the cup competition. The top two teams in each group enter the cup and the third and fourth place teams contest the Evelyn Beattie Quaich. The team should find out this week their overall seeding and who they will face in their first game of the knockout rounds.

Player/coach Kirsti Leask was proud of the team’s performance on the day, as the players gelled really well together especially with some new faces joining the squad.

She said: “Each year we continue to build on previous performances and show mainland sides we are a strong team to contend with.

“The Scottish Cup is a great way for Shetland players to gain experience and have the opportunity to play against some of Scotland’s best club players as well as Scottish national team players.”

• See full reports in Friday’s Shetland Times.