Strong start for AHS as netball league resumes after summer

The netball leagues began last week with AHS defeating Wastside in the only division one match, while Mishaps and Challengers picked up full points in the second division and Team Tingwall, Hotfooters and Da Hooligans were victorious in division three.

Division One

AHS 30, Wastside 19

Anderson High School and Wastisde met this week with both teams fielding a few new faces.

Considering this match was played at the very beginning of a new season, both teams put on steady, consistent displays, with both sets of players showing a real desire to take early points in the league.

It was an even start with most battles being won and lost in the centre third of the court, and both attacking ends having few precious chances to hit the target. AHS centre court players Katie Farnworth and Ann-Marie Kennerley made a few telling interceptions in the latter stages of the first quarter and took a two-goal lead into the break.

The AHS defence had to work hard to keep Julie Odie away from the post as Wastside’s Mhairi Moncrieff regularly used perfectly weighted balls to take their on-form shooter comfortably under the post. However, at the AHS attacking end Claire Morris had joined Debbie Smith, showing how well they linked passing and movement in and around the circle, and added another 10 goals to the tally.

The third end was AHS’s best with some super team defending, where all players worked hard to eliminate the options for passing when Wastside were in possession.

Megan Keppie now had the measure of the high ball into the circle and Allie Elphinstone’s non-stop running helped to close down spaces in the centre court. Emma Leask was a steady influence throughout and made some perceptive long passes to speed up proceedings from defence to attack for the young AHS team.

The final result was a well-earned victory for AHS, with Wastside showing promise and the determination to trouble others in future games.

Players of the match were Allie Elphinstone for AHS and Julie Odie for Wastside.

Division Two

Mishaps 32, Da McEwans 30

Both sides started strongly and it was quickly evident that this was going to be a very close and high scoring game.

Mishaps had a few new faces and considering they had never all played together before they worked very well as team. Accurate centre court passing and shooting from both teams saw the Mishaps team sneak ahead to lead 10-7 at the end of first quarter.

The teams returned to court focused in the second quarter and Mishaps began feeding great balls into the shooting duo of Leanne Tait and new recruit Gayle Henry, who were consistently netting goals.

At the other end Elaine Jamieson and another new face Kara Thomson worked well in defence. This was much needed as McEwans’ shooters were working well together with Alison Williamson and Emily Shearer rarely missing the target. Mishaps still managed to lead but only by one goal as the first half ended 17-16.

Mishaps made a few changes in the second half with Ann-Marie Goudie playing centre and new recruit Carly Gray at WA. Mishaps continued to work well although they had a lot of pressure on them from the McEwans centre court players who were playing particularly well together.

Maggie Kay Irvine was working tirelessly both attacking and defending and played well with Eileen Robertson who made some excellent moves around the circle. Both teams continued to work hard as neither team could afford to lose the opportunity to convert a centre pass into a goal. Again a very close quarter which saw Mishaps just ahead at 23-22.

The final quarter saw McEwans picking up their game and putting a lot of pressure on Mishaps. At this stage it looked as though they were making a late comeback, but fortunately for the Lerwick side they managed to recompose themselves, and netted some fine goals in the closing minutes to come out victorious at 32-30.

For McEwans the centre court playing of Maggie Kay Irvine was outstanding and she deserved to be player of the match. For Mishaps new recruit and shooting star Gayle Henry stood out and was chosen as player of the match.

Unst 24, Challengers 27

Unst unveiled their reformed team with new mums Claire Priest and Linda Thomson back on court, joined by new members Amber Inkster, Vaila Kay and Janet Abernethy.

The Challengers’ quick play in the first quarter saw them take a 7-6 lead despite strong play from Unst’s Chelsea Jamieson.

Challengers provided a tough game with skilful centre court play from Catherine Williamson and with Heather Williamson always on the ball ready to pass into the circle. However, Unst rattled the Challengers with tight defending from Martha Clark and Julie Munro, leaving the score 12-12 at half time.

Challengers picked up the pace in the third quarter with their strong passing creating a fluent game up the court. Louise Johnson followed this with her efficient long-range shooting, allowing Challengers to draw ahead at 22-16.

In the final quarter Unst showed their determination and kept their cool, but keen rebounding from Challengers Natalie Polson saw them take the game 27-24.

Players of the match were Heather Williamson for Challengers and Martha Clark for Unst.

Division Three

Hotfooters 33, Scallywags 19

This was the Hotfooters’ first match at senior level and the junior team got off to the best possible start, securing the points against a slightly understrength Scallywags.

After a fairly even first quarter with missed opportunities and passes going astray on both sides Hotfooters edged ahead as Hayley Tulloch and Anne Leask began to settle late in the quarter, helping their team to a 6-3 lead.

The second period saw Scallywags struggle to find the net although they held possession well with Andrea Henderson and Gwen Malcolmson putting in a sterling shift in the mid-court.

Gillian Anderson and Hayley Tulloch were now relaxed and shooting with ease, and there was good support play from Hannah Manson which enabled Hotfooters to increase their lead to 17-7 at half time.

The third quarter proved to be more even as Scallywags’ Anne Marie Robinson began to find her range with her shots, scoring three in a row without reply. Hotfooters keeper Rosanne Georgeson began to read the high pass into the circle and stopped several further scoring chances, feeding the ball to team mate Lauren Odie who helped turn defence into attack with great movement and passing into the circle. The score was 27-13 going into the final quarter.

The latter part of the game finished with each team scoring goal for goal. Special mention must go to Scallywags’ Joy Duncan, returning after a long absence from the game and finding the net on two occasions.  Anne Marie Robinson and Lauren Odie were voted players of the match.

Tingwall 27, Scalloway Juniors 25

This was the first game of the season and both teams took time to settle. The first quarter saw some misses at goal and some interception from both teams.

The play moved from end to end with both teams evenly matched, the score being five-all at the end of the first quarter.

As the teams settled the passing improved with some good linking play by Scalloway increasing their lead to 12-8 at half time.

During the third quarter Tingwall came more into the game, the shooting combination of Zoey Symington and Debbi Williamson working well. Tingwall took the quarter 9-6 to make the score 18-17.

With everything to play for in the last quarter both teams tried very hard with good linking between defence and attack. Tingwall managed to pull ahead during the last five mins to win 27-25.

Players of the match were Rowan Nicolson and Julie Brown for Scalloway Juniors and Kayti Jeromson for Tingwall.

Ness 22, Da Hooligans 27

Da Hooligans started with the first centre, but this was intercepted by Ness’ Alice Smith who immediately converted.

Quickly Ness went 2-0 up, but with long court play before the next goal, nerves seemed to enter the Ness team. Confusion in the Ness circle lead to Da Hooligans keeper Nicola Polson taking control. With fantastic passing up the court, Da Hooligans quickly converted through Lara Kay and found their confidence, gaining a 6-4 lead.

Da Hooligans started off the second quarter as they ended the first, with great ball control and team play. Newly-introduced Zoe Irvine stamped her authority on the game and fed excellent balls in to her shooters, with Valerie Sales shooting particularly well. Da Hooligans pulled ahead to lead 13-7 until Ness’ Caroline Wood found her form and, along with Elizabeth Williamson, pulled it back a bit for Ness, with the quarter ending 14-10 to Da Hooligans.

The third quarter was undeniably the best for Ness, with Ailish Parham at GD making it hard for Da Hooligans to get the ball into the circle.

Early in the quarter Ness were catching up with Da Hooligans at 15-17, but Lara Kay piled on more pressure on the Ness attack. With this added vigour, Ness started making sloppy passing errors.

Da Hooligans pounced on every mistake and with great control from Zoe Irvine, pulled ahead at 20-15. Ness found their focus once more and pulled it back to 21-19 at the end of the quarter, with Elizabeth Williamson scoring well.

Da Hooligans kept up their fantastic passing play in the fourth quarter. With the quick pace, Ness were tiring and this showed with poor passes. Suddenly you got the feeling they were always chasing the game, instead of attacking it. Da Hooligans played well as a team and kept their cool, ending the game 27-22 in their favour.

Player of the match for Ness was Elizabeth Williamson for her calm shooting while for Da Hooligans it was Zoe Irvine for her superb control of the game in the centre third and great passes into the circle for her shooters.