Match Reports – 7th December 2011

Click here to read the match reports from the 7th of December 2011…

Portsmouth 2nds vs Brunel 3rds
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Brunel 40 – Portsmouth 39
Written by: Sarah Blackmore

On arrival at Nuffield sports hall the whole team felt the nerves of the match that was about to take place. We were about to take on Brunel 3rd team who are top of the league above ours. Although slightly anxious we had no doubt that our team had the ability to pull through into the next cup round. The first centre was taken and a confident 2nd team pushed forward and came away with a 10 goal lead at quarter time. This was a fantastic start to what we had anticipated would be a very challenging game. After a few changes our lead remained and at half time Portsmouth was still leading by 6 goals. After what can only be described as the third quarter blues our lead was diminished down to just 4 goals. Entering the last quarter we realised that all we needed to do as to hold out the quarter unfortunately we saw the confidence of girls on court drop along with the discipline necessary to win the game. On the final whistle the score was a draw and just as the whistle blew a penalty pass or shot was given to the opposition. The Brunel GA stepped up, took the shot and scored. Therefore this lead Brunel to win the game by one goal. A disappointing exit to the cup but we are still determined for BUCs league promotion!

Portsmouth 4ths vs St Mary’s 2nds
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: St Mary’s 35 - Portsmouth 34
Written by: Tamara Paton

On Wednesday 7th December, we arrived at St. Mary’s with a positive attitude and high team morale.Once Megan Gibson, Vice Captain, took us for a brisk warm up, we were ready to hit the court with high spirits. With St. Marys starting with the first centre, interceptions were key in the defence end. This was shown through Tamara Paton and Harriet Ramirez turning over the ball in the centre third. With the attack moving aggressively around the circle, the ball was placed perfectly into Sophie Wright who had faultless shooting. The first quarter ended 9-9 and changes were made with Steph Keay going on as WD and Tamara Paton moving to C. St. Marys were putting on the pressure making it hard for Portsmouth to feed the ball into the centre. Megan Gibson was holding her space which allowed her to make several accurate passes into the circle. Rachael Bealing was making it hard for the defence to pick up the ball giving Portsmouth a lead of 4 goals. As the last quarter was approaching Portsmouth was down by one and were fired up to pull it back. As the last minute approached, a turnover by St Marys allowed them to score a goal in the last 30 seconds to end the game with a score of 35-34.