After beating archrivals Southampton at Varsity 2011, the University of Portsmouth Netball Club were keen to continue their winning streak. With four teams scheduled to play throughout the day, the fourths began play first.
 
The fourth team, captained by Tamara Paton, began their game with strong defensive play throughout the court. Unfortunately, the poor weather conditions made it a struggle for all the girls to play to their highest potential. The freak weather, varying from rain to snow, didn’t faze Tamara’s girls, and with coach Vicky Froud and spectators cheering them on they were hoping for a clear win. With some brilliant balls from Wing Attack, Megan Gibson, into shooting player, Sophie Wright, Portsmouth were able to convert almost every shot. As the rain began to get even heavier, Portsmouth managed to adapt much better to the conditions than Southampton, making sure they played a short pass game with quick movements and no innacurate balls. After a strenuous game with minimal vision, the fourth team managed a brilliant win of 21-14; offering a great basis for the other three teams to follow.
 
As the bad weather continued, it was up to Holly Formstone, captain of the third team to decide whether to continue on with their game and see if the weather improved. Umpires deemed the courts to still be safe to play on so the game began. However, after quarters being dropped from 15 minutes to 10 minutes whilst the thirds were ahead by two goals, the game was postponed after the first quarter. After much discussion and organisation, the Southampton girls managed to find spare indoor space, allowing the last three games to continue. The thirds continued on with their lead, finishing the game at 25-24, a narrow and well deserved win!
 
The firsts were up next. Last year saw a massive win for the first team, with all the club determined for a repeat. Coach Judy Yoxall and Captain Tasha Bond gave some basic objectives to stick by, desperate to put as much pressure on the opposition as possible. Unfortunately, Southampton’s attack was strong as their new coach, from a high level super-league team, clearly pushed them to their full potential. The defence, Sally Tibbitts and Alice Berry remained strong, in a bid to keep their score low. However, with three of the first team injured or ill, they struggled to push the attack. The final score: 39-13.
 
With the overall Netball score Portsmouth:2 and Southampton: 1, the final game for the second team was the decider. The second team, captained by Nola Hamilton, understood the pressure they faced, and clearly so did their opposition. Throughout the game, the score remained close and the conversion rate remained high from both teams attack.
 
The spectators were willing Portsmouth to win, having their own battle with Southampton’s spectators. Unfortunately, Southampton intercepted the ball and converted right at the last minute making the score 32-31 to the home squad. A massive congratulations to all the Netball girls and the spectators that came along for the day. Considering the harsh weather and injured or sick girls, we managed to pull off a draw! Southampton’s ability may have allowed them to win overall on the day, but their banter will never hit our level! #justsaying

Written by: Tasha Bond – First Team Captain

Portsmouth 1sts vs University College London 1sts
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Portsmouth 46 – UCL 24
Written by: Tasha Bond

After an upsetting loss last week against Brighton, the University of Portsmouth Netball Club’s first team were all keen to get back to their winning streak. The team were sure to take the weaknesses from this loss, work on them and turn them into winning strengths for this game against UCL. They started the first quarter strong, with both defence and attack combining well. Kelly Fenlon at Wing Defence gave her opposing player a challenging job through tight marking, leaving the opposition with minimal room for attacking movement. With Alice Berry injured from the last game, we called upon Sarah Blackmore from the second team to help us with our defending strategies. Sally Tibbitts, at Goal Defence and Sarah Blackmore at Goal Keeper, resulted in a great combination, communicating at all times and therefore putting extra pressure on UCL’s shooting partnership. This benefit allowed us to finish the first quarter with a 7 goal lead on our opposition.

Defence remained strong into the second quarter, with the mid-court enforcing a zone, causing many way ward passes from the opposition. This resulted in the opposition struggling to push the ball down court and into their shooting third. Both shooting players, Becca Saunders and Tasha Bond, communicated well in the circle, working well together to convert the shots. Exceptional work from Harriet Ramirez at Wing Attack and Nicola Elliott at Centre further allowed us to continue on with our successful lead, consequently only allowing the opposition to convert 3 goals in the whole second quarter.

The third quarter saw some changes, with Emily Edwards replacing Harriet Ramirez at Wing Attack. Emily continued on with Harriet’s work pace and continued to bring the ball down the mid court with Nicola, allowing the shooters to continue converting. Alice Berry came on for one quarter in order to let her get back into match play and increase her fitness after her injury.

The final quarter saw an advantageous lead at 37 – 14. Unfortunately, fresher Kelly Fenlon and Tasha Bond collided mid air, with Kelly consequently taken off from a head injury. This shook up the team, with quick changes having to be made. This unfortunately meant we lost concentration, and had to adapt quickly to the changes made. Our successful lead at the beginning allowed us to end with a convincing win at 46 – 24, with all the players commended for their excellent play. More importantly, Kelly Fenlon is recovering from her injury and will definitely be ready for our next game against Hertfordshire.

Portsmouth 3rds vs Portsmouth 4ths
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Portsmouth 4ths 39 – Portsmouth 3rds 26
Written by: Kate Stuckey

Going into the game against Portsmouth 4th we were all very focused and determined to have a good game. The first quarter of the match went well, with great passes and movements down the court from Morwenna McKenzie (C) as well as accurate shooting by Holly Formstone (GS) and Corrine Murphy (GA).

The score by the end of the first quarter was 8-5 to us and so we were confident in our game play. When going back into the match the 4ths came back fighting and showed how much they wanted to win. Cathy Nichols (GD) and Melissa Faux (WD) showed impressive determination by being tight on in defence and were getting some cracking interceptions.

As the game went on 4th teams shooting was very accurate and they were hardly missing putting them into the lead by the third quarter. However in the last quarter we kept our heads up and gave all we could give to turn over the game. The final score was 26-39 to Portsmouth 4ths. We were pleased with the effort we put in and did not give up. The match has given us more motivation to train hard as a team in order to win our other matches, well played girls!

Portsmouth 4ths vs Portsmouth 3rds
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Portsmouth 4ths 39 – Portsmouth 3rds 26
Written by: Steph Keay

The second game of the season for Portsmouth fourths against Portsmouth thirds was always going to be one of unchallengeable ferocity between the two teams. From the warm up it could be seen that anxiety was high, both teams under pressure to retain their status in the league and not be dragged in a relegation battle.

The first quarter saw Portsmouth thirds taking a deserved 4 goal lead. Portsmouth fourth’s finding it difficult to settle their passing and the third’s zoning defence down the court on top notch form. With the combination of excellent defending from Beth Evans, Rosie West and Charlotte Hughes working hard to pressure the thirds attack, and some great effort from the attack working the ball around the circle to feed both Rachel Bealing and Sophie Wright (Player of the match), the fourths clawed back some vital goals quickly in the second quarter. With the score level pegging at half time, both teams were still right in the game and both determined to come back after the third quarter having taken the lead.

Portsmouth fourth’s were the team to do so, with a 19-23 goal lead from some accurate balls in to the circle from Megan Gibson and exceptional long distance shooting from both shooters. The quarter also saw the addition of Emily Reeves in at Centre and Tamara Paton moving across to replace Charlotte Hughes at WD. The final quarter saw both teams, flying all over the court to make interception and battling hard for any and every loose ball and rebound.

Portsmouth thirds were throwing everything at the defence trying to take back the lead, but the fourths were able to take control of the game in the last five minutes and the match finished with a final score of 26-39 to the fourths. The game was a great game of netball from both teams. It was definitely one of the best games of netball seen from Portsmouth fourths; not just in their play, but in sheer determination shown from all members of the team to achieve the win.

Portsmouth 1sts vs University of  Brighton 1sts
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: University of Brighton 48 – Portsmouth 30
Written by: Alice Berry

After winning against Brighton 1st’s back in October the team were eager to win again. With the match delayed as the facilities were being used, we were told there would only be 15 minutes to warm up! Everyone got straight out and tried to psych themselves up for the match ahead. With Brighton taking gain by the first three goals, Portsmouth fought back with a well-played first quarter, the ending quarter score being only 9-6 to Brighton. The second quarter started with determination to turnover as many balls and to gain the advance. Unfortunately, Brighton’s defence were very strong and intercepting the majority of passes in to our shooting circle and their shooters getting very rare misses, they began to pull ahead. In the third quarter the girls were beginning to tire in the undesirable indoor playing conditions, and we were struggling to get the ball down our shooting end. The Brighton girls continued to pull away with their consistently strong play but Portsmouth never gave up. In the last quarter we were down quite a bit, but with a shuffle in the attack with Emily and Becca going in as shooters and Tasha coming out as WA, we started to pull back. The ball was continuously well fed in to the shooting circle and rare mistakes were being made. The team fought well throughout the last quarter and even beat Brighton in quarter goals: 10-8. But sadly the quarter ended too soon for us to catch up making the final score 48-30 to Brighton. Despite losing we had some excellent court movement from Tasha and Nikki, and strong defensive work from both Sally and Kelly.

Portsmouth 2nds vs Buckinghamshire New University
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Portsmouth 42 – Buckinghamshire 22
Written by: Katie Nichols

Due to a highly inspirational speech from Welsh the morning prior our first game back after Christmas, we were extremely pumped up and ready to face the cold and Bucks New University 1st netball team. After a thorough warm up, we were ready to begin. A good start was a necessity as we knew we could not fall into the pace and game of the Bucks team. Welsh and Tanya (a former Bucks player) worked well around the D to ensure a steady flow of goals for going in. Thanks to knowledge from Tanya of the way the defenders worked, we quickly cottoned on to the ‘no overheads’ as the defenders were particularly tall and possessive of space. Despite the cold we attained an early lead and managed to creep away from them. The Bucks shooters were good, so great defending from Lou and Kirstie enabled us to create a lot of pressure. Furthermore Lucy and Nola created a lot of panic within the attacking quarter which caused Bucks to hold onto the ball, getting penalized for ‘3 seconds.’ Thanks to the support from all the other UPNC girls, an increased lead was inevitable and the score came out as 42-22 to Pompey. Absolute domination girls! Well fought!

Portsmouth 3rds vs Royal Holloway 4ths
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Royal Holloway 32 – Portsmouth 24
Written by: Polly Essex

The 3rd team arrived at Langstone determined to beat Royal Holloway despite the freezing cold weather. Starting strong, we scored the first few goals but Royal Holloway managed to pull it back to level. With a couple of pauses in the game to fix a broken netball post and bandage up Cathy’s injured knee, first quarter ended with Royal Holloway leading by two. The second quarter saw Kate come on as WA and we played a game of catch up, managing to level the score at several times but struggling to turn it over to get ahead. Mel came on at half time and the second half saw more of the same battle, with the score being extremely close throughout. Despite some great shooting, the final quarter saw Royal Holloway storm ahead to end the game at 32-24. The player of the match was awarded to Mo for her determination and some fantastic challenges and interceptions, and many thanks to all that came to support, as well as Corrine’s mum who offered her support and advice at the end of each quarter!

Portsmouth 1sts vs University of Bath 2nds
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: University of Bath 53 – Portsmouth 42
Written by: Kelly Fenlon

This week saw the firsts travel to Bath to play the University of Bath’s second team in the BUC’s Cup competition. After arriving at their impressive and very intimidating facilities, along with the added pressure of a injury within the team, I think it is fair to say everyone felt very apprehensive about the game ahead, especially after finding out that they destroyed the University of Kent in the last round of the Cup. As the first quarter began we soon realised that we had underestimated ourselves. With tight defense down the whole court, the quarter ended 11-13 to Bath. The second quarter saw us start to panic, leading to some silly mistakes and allowed Bath to pull ahead. By the end of the quarter, we had picked our game up with the half ending 20-32. Motivational talks from coach, captain and vice at half time reassured us that we were good enough and that twelve goals was potentially easy to beat. We went back on court with a positive attitude. Tasha and Becca demonstrated an excellent partnership on court throughout the game but especially in the 3rd quarter. With determination from all players to turnover their centre passes, we managed to close the gap finishing the quarter 34-41. We went into the last quarter with determination and everyone fought hard. Unfortunately, we were unable to close the gap and the game finished 42-53. It was a close game with great play down the court form Nikki, Nic and Nola and some strong defense in the shooting third from an unusual partnership in Sally and Kelly. Thanks to Sally and Nic for driving, Nola for stepping up and to Judy, Emily and Harriet for travelling to support. Well played girls!!

Portsmouth 1sts vs Chichester 1sts
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Portsmouth 33 – Chichester 26
Written by: Tasha Bond

After playing Chichester first team in the first part of the season, and losing quite heavily – we went out ‘all guns blazing,’ determined to win. They were top of our division, with a couple of girls who played for England so we knew it would be a challenge. The courts were quite slippery so we made sure to keep a short and sharp game, trying hard to drive forward making Chichester’s defence struggle. The first quarter saw us 2 goals down – so we had to make sure we pushed harder with a tight defence entering the second quarter. Half way into the second quarter, Alice Berry went down with an injury and had to be substituted. Kelly Fenlon went from Wing Defence to Goal Defence – with Nicola Eliott moving from Wing Attack to Wing Defence. Harriet Ramirez came on to take the position of Wing Attack and came on strong. Hats off to Harriet, for coming onto the court unprepared for an injury substitute, playing well and adapting to the pace of the game quickly. Unfortunately Chichester’s team out run us, and losing a member of our team to an injury, we once again ended up down in the second quarter, by 6 goals. With morale boosting speeches from the coach, myself and vice-captain Nicola Eliott we made sure our team went into the second half with their heads held high. We all defended tight – all the way from attack to defence. With some amazing interceptions from Sally Tibbitts we managed to catch up from being 6 goals down. The third quarter saw Emily Edwards substitute Harriet Ramirez as Wing Attack – with Emily Edwards stepping up to a position she rarely plays. We went from strength to strength, with our determination to succeed and knock Chichester off the top spot helping us win. Winning score 33 – 26. Keep up the winning First team.

Portsmouth 3rds vs Sussex 1sts
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Sussex 46 – Portsmouth 28
Written by: Corrine Murphy

After having a respectable win against Brighton before the Christmas break, Portsmouth 3rd team were looking forward to some more wins going into the second half of the season. After previously losing to Sussex we knew this would be a tough match. At the start of the match the defenders were tight onto shooter Holly Formstone and we knew our usual high balls into her wouldn’t work so we changed our game working it around the circle with some great feeds in by WA Kate Stuckey into GA Corrine Murphy. Despite outstanding interceptions by GK Cathy Nichols and GD Chloe Taylor we were down all the way through the first half. We were beginning to close the gap in the second half. Charlotte Knowles took the court as GK and worked effectively with Cathy as GD to retrieve rebounds. C Morwenna McKenzie and WD Mel Faux worked tirelessly in the centre and defending third allowing us to convert some of their mistakes to goals. No matter how much effort we put in, Sussex’s fast play and strong defending won them the game. Thanks to Holly and Mo for driving. Player of the match was awarded to Corrine Murphy.

Portsmouth 4ths vs Royal Holloway 1sts
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Royal Holloway 39 – Portsmouth 13
Written by: Tamara Paton

For the third time this season Portsmouth Netball 4th team were up against Royal Holloway 1st team. After an early arrival, many of Portsmouth team were eager to begin the game. After a loss in their previous visit, Portsmouth were feeling determined to settle the score. Holloway won the toss and took first centre; they were hot out of the blocks taking an early lead in the first quarter, the Portsmouth team having to work incredibly hard not only in defence but all across the court. With a 9 goal deficit going into the second quarter, but spirits still high Portsmouth went back on court with the belief that this was a difference they could still pull back. Despite some excellent defensive work between Rosie West, Sarah Blackmore and Tamara Paton, constantly trying to break down every Holloway attack and possibly some umpiring decisions, the gap between the scores grew by another three goals. The third quarter saw Sarah Blackmore take up the Goal Attack position, Tamara Paton change to centre and Nola Hamilton moving from centre court to circle defence. Steph Keay was also brought in at Wing Defence, however due to injury; Steph’s time on court was shorter than expected, meaning the team had to return back to their original positions. The determination and effort of the 4th team throughout the game could not be faulted, Sophie Wright and Rachel Bealing trying every trick in the book to try and evade there oppositions, but the rim of the goal seemed to be their enemy, getting in the way of many attempts on goal. Interceptions were flying around from both teams in the fourth quarter, with Megan Gibson and Nola trying desperately to bring the ball back down to the Portsmouth attacking third. However, in the end, defending their pride was more the aim for the Portsmouth team, trying to decrease the deficit as much as possible before the final whistle, with a final score of 13-39.

Portsmouth 5ths vs Imperial Medics 2nds
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Portsmouth 46 – Imperial Medics 31
Written by: Kate Ashcroft

On the 25th January, the 5th team had there first match back, after the christmas break against Imperial Medics. The game was almost a Bi as imperial turned up almost 15 minutes late for the game. This was very frustrating for the 5ths as we were all pumped up, warmed up and ready to play, so when they were late this made all the 5ths quite aggravated. For a first game back, we played well as a team, however there are definitely areas that we need to improve on for are next match. The final score was 46-31 to the 5ths, so a great success and hopefully we can continue this winning streak and will be on the road to promotion for next season.

Portsmouth 6ths vs Roehampton 1sts
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Roehampton 36 – Portsmouth 34
Written by: Charlotte Hughes

When faced with Roehampton earlier in the league, as our first league game, we had only lost by five goals, and as knew that we had trained hard and improved greatly as a team, we could make the match ours. We went into the game confident that we could secure a win, as it was much needed as Roehampton were one place above us in the league. After a thorough warm up we were ready for the game to start. The game got off to a slow start and we took a few minutes to settle. However, when we did, we used all our skills that we had learned from training to work the ball well down court for Emily (C) and Alice (WA) to feed into Carly (GA) and Lauren (GS) who both were on form to secure the important goals. After the first quarter we were slightly ahead, and confident we could maintain the lead. Going into the second quarter we improved even more so, with everyone on court playing very well. Georiga (GK) and Paige (GD) communicated well together to stop Roehampton’s shooters from scoring, forcing them to attempt to work it round the circle. This meant great pressure was put on their attack, which resulted in interceptions, and enabled Alice and Emily to feed into Lauren and Carly, who moved round the circle well to gain space, to score. At half time we were leading by 7 goals, and with Amy on at WA we had fresh legs to try and maintain the pressure on Roehampton, to keep up our lead. Our play continued well with both attack working well together and defence making excellent interceptions. Roehampton managed to close the gap slightly in the third quarter to four goals, and going into the final quarter it was quite evenly matched. The quarter started with a turnover from Charlotte (WD) and more interceptions made by Emily, Paige and Georgia. The score was very evenly matched throughout the majority of the last quarter. However, as the time went down the pressure started to get to us, and Roehampton dug in to claw their way back. It was clear that we began to panic and let this affect our game, as in the last three minutes Roehampton pulled the score back and we lost 36 goals to 34. It was a great effort from everyone and the score did not reflect how well everybody played, it was majorly disappointing that we could not secure the win, well played girls. Player of the match went to Emily Reeves.

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.

Portsmouth 1sts vs Swansea 1sts
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Portsmouth 39 – Swansea 37
Written by: Tasha Bond

This week was our first cup game, which is in the form of a knock out. Unfortunately our first round would take us to Wales, Swansea – a long journey for one game. With this in mind, it was even more important to win – we didn’t want to travel all the way to Wales with a loss! We set out at 7.30am! The earliest some of the girls had woken since starting University. Nicola Elliott and Sally Tibbitts took it in turns to drive the mini-bus – the journey which took a total of 8 hours! Once arriving in Wales, we found the sports centre, and spotted a few celebrities on the way. Nikki Gatland definitely got a bit star struck when seeing an elite swimmer! We began the game strong, with a 5 – 0 start a few minutes into the game. The umpires found the game a difficult pace and struggled to make quick decisions therefore stopping the flow. However, we progressed on through these difficulties and found ourselves winning with a good 5 goal lead at half time. We made changes throughout the progression of the game, mainly in our attacking third, swapping the GS from Becca Sanders to Emily Edwards – both getting half a game. Swansea came out fighting and we struggled to keep the ball out of their attacking third. However, the girls kept fighting and we managed a great win, our first win of the cup rounds. I’m so proud of the hard work and efforts of all the girls, particularly after a long journey!

Portsmouth 2nds vs St Mary’s 1sts
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Portsmouth 46 – St Mary’s 35
Written by: Katie Nichols

After an eventful journey up to Twickenham, finding ourselves confronted by rowdy protestors, we eventually managed to reach our destination. Although we were fairly confident in our ability and fitness from previous home wins, we were particularly unsure to what the result might be against St. Mary’s. Our sneaky information gatherer Tanya Richardson managed to give the team a heads up on the Centre and GA, which enabled us to get into the aggressive and focused frame of mind. The first quarter was a little stiff, producing silly mistakes. We began to realize we needed to up our game to ensure St. Mary’s did not increase their lead as they were gaining confidence from their home supporters. Captain, Nola Hamilton woke the team up and with a little help from a bit of laughter at the expense of the umpire getting wiped out; we calmed down and fought hard to keep possession. Beautiful passes into the shooting D by Grace Edwards rattled the defense, allowing Courtney Rose and Tanya to shoot with ease. By the 2nd and 3rd quarter we started to increase out lead, after initially being 5 goals down. Great defense work, communicating clearly with each other, Welsh and Louise Wilkins, timed great interceptions and forced rebounds. Lucy Smith worked well with Nola, pressuring and rattling the attacks. After many, almost ‘fights’ with the opposing Centre, the team really pulled together, supporting one another and regaining calmness to pull a well-deserved win out the bag! Well done girls.

Portsmouth 3rds vs Brighton 3rds
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Portsmouth 46 – Brighton 28
Written by: Polly Essex

Our eagerly anticipated home match against Brighton began with a motivational team talk from Judy, and we went on court determined that if we could win the first quarter then the match would be ours. Some brilliant co-operation and communication between the team saw us lead throughout the first quarter, helped by great interceptions by WD Chloe Taylor and C Morwenna McKenzie. This continued throughout the second quarter where we increased the goal difference further and some excellent shooting from GA Corrine Murphy and GS Holly Formstone took us to half time with a strong lead. More motivational talk at half time sent us back onto court with a positive mind set, and with Polly Essex and Mel Faux coming on as WA and WD we continued to fight to keep the lead. More amazing defence and team work from GD Cathy Nichols and GK Charlotte Knowles led to plenty of turn overs and a quick change before the final quarter saw Kate Stuckey move to GA and Corrine Murphy move to C. Great movement down the court and a tireless effort from WD Mel and GA Kate meant we passed the ball from defence to attack with ease and Holly’s accurate shooting continued throughout the match. Fantastic support from the 4th and 6th team definitely contributed to our outstanding final score of 46-28. Congratulations to Kate Stuckey for receiving player of the match, as well as Charlotte Knowles for coach’s player, and thank you to all who came to support.

Portsmouth 5ths vs Reading 2nds
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Reading 33- Portsmouth 25
Written by: Hana Blincowe

On Wednesday the 30th of November, the fifth team faced Reading second team in the final game of 2011. All of us were very positive about this game, and raring to go! We started very strong, there were some brilliant interceptions from defence Kate Ashcroft, Rebecca Goddard and Paige Gardner and excellent shooting from Georgia Brett and Steph Mandy. At half time Rosanna Brown joined us after her rather amusing detour!! Reading put up a hard fight and the game was neck and neck. Despite trying to pull ourselves into the lead, Reading worked hard and managed to overtake us. An unfortunate injury for Steph Mandy in the final quarter meant that we had to she had to come off for the remaining few minutes of the match. Unfortunately we lost the match, but we will not let this get our heads down and will push even harder for those wins in the new year!

Portsmouth 6ths vs Royal Holloway 2nds
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Reading – Portsmouth 26
Written by: Hana Blincowe

Going into the game we were positive as we knew Royal Holloway hadn’t had as much game play as ourselves, and also we had the advantage of being at home and playing inside. We started the game well, and our efforts were evenly matched by Holloway. Interceptions were being made from centre court and defence enabling us to work the ball down court to feed into the shooters. However, we struggled to get the long balls into Lauren Hyatt (GS) as Holloways keeper was tall and intercepted nearly every one. After the first quarter Amy Harwood came on at WA and the balls into the circle improved as both Lauren Hyatt and Carly Hewitt (GA) along with Amy Harwood and Emily Reeves (C) worked the ball well round the circle to get round Holloways defence. The defence were still working hard, with interceptions being made, especially by Georgia Payne (GK) who had an excellent game. At half time the score was close but Holloway was leading, we didn’t let this affect our game and kept our heads up because we knew that the game was not over. The third quarter continued as the second left off, with good defence work and working the ball well down court and around the circle for shooters to get those important goals, but this was matched by Holloway and we struggled to close the lead. The last quarter we attempted to fight for it, but unfortunately Georgia injured herself resulting in a change in the team. Lauren moved to GK, leaving Carly and Amy as shooters and Hannah back on as WA. This affected our confidence slightly as Georgia had been a key player in the game. We fought for the win; however, the game ended with a loss with the score at Portsmouth 27-38 Royal Holloway. Player of the match went to Amy Harwood for her shooting and feeds into the circle.

Portsmouth 1sts vs Kent 1sts
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Portsmouth 39 – Kent 37
Written by: Emily Edwards

This week the 6ths travelled to Brunel for another BUCS league match against the Brunel 5th team. We knew it would be a tough game but had heard that the Brunel 5ths did not have a coach, therefore we hoped we could use this to our advantage. The first quarter started with Brunel in the lead but we were determined to win so went into the second quarter with our heads held high, set on getting those goals to put us in the lead. Ruth (GK) and Georgia (GD) worked together effectively in the defensive circle to gain those vital interceptions and rebounds from the Brunel shooters that we needed. All players then worked the ball up the court with Amy Harwood driving it into the shooting circle for both Carly (GA) and Lauren (GS) to finish of by scoring some brilliant goals keeping the score level with Brunel. Going into the third quarter, Portsmouth continued to put pressure on Brunel showing our determination to win. However, the final quarter saw Brunel putting up a strong fight resulting in an unfortunate lost of 38-28. Despite the score this in no way reflected the game and we were all so proud of how everyone played. Player of the match was awarded for Lauren Hyatt for her excellent play and accurate shooting.

Portsmouth 1sts vs Hertfordshire 1sts
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Portsmouth 38 – Hertfordshire 29
Written by: Tasha Bond

After a previous defeat, we made sure we worked with our coach to improve our training regime and increase our chances of winning the next game. We were up against Hertfordshire who are currently second in the league – so we knew it would be a tough game.
The first quarter we came out strong, with the shooters making use of interceptions made and converting most centre passes. Toward the end of the quarter, Hertfordshire found their game and began to increase their pressure on the ball, particularly the attack. With our team driving forward and at the correct angle, which we worked hard on in training, we entered the second quarter two goals up.
Throughout the third and fourth quarter we kept on going, knowing full well that our lead could easily be changed with Hertfordshire’s energetic team. However, with some excellent work in the defence with Kelly, Alice and Sally and great motivational talk from Nicola Elliott, we extended our lead winning 38-29. Player of the match went to Alice Berry.

Portsmouth 2nds vs Brighton 4ths
Home or Away: Home
Final Score: Portsmouth 44 – Brighton 14
Written by: Sarah Blackmore

Once again as a second team we demonstrated our immense desire to win every game left in the remaining season. After a thorough warm-up and a few inspirational words from our captain, Nola Hamilton, we were once again well on our way to victory. The first half came and went with some glorious interceptions from Louise Wilkins and some fantastic shooting from Holly Formstone and Courtney Rose at the other end of the court. After a rousing half time team talk and a quick switch up of players, we saw Welshie change ends and become GS and some fresh legs in the form of Kirsty Peters and Lucy Smith, we were off to another great start in the second half. We comfortably lead the entire game and we challenged ourselves by setting ourselves achievable score targets, i.e not letting the opposition gain more than 4 goals a quarter. This ensured our team remained disciplined, focused and motivated for the entirety of the match. A fantastic game from everyone and I am very proud to be a part of your team Congratulations!! Player of the Match went to Nola Hamilton

Portsmouth 4ths vs Royal Holloway 1sts
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Royal Holloway 29 – Portsmouth 19
Written by: Rachel Bealing

Wednesday 16th saw the 4ths travel to Royal Holloway for a cup match. After an eventful journey we arrived and began our warm up. The first quarter saw just how strong their defensive unit were. Likewise with our team, Beth and Rosie played fantastically as a unit and really put their shooters under pressure. We ended that quarter just a couple of goals behind. After an encouraging captains talk from Tamara we managed to claw our way back in the second quarter. However the third quarter saw them pull away slightly. The team played well the whole way through but the game finished 29-19. Player of the Match was given to Sophie.

Portsmouth 6ths vs Chichester 4ths
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Chichester 30 - Portsmouth 26
Written by: Carly Hewitt

This week the 6ths had an away game against Chichester. We all arrived at the union in high spirits – minus a Wrap & Roll lunch though ?! As the opposite team were in a league below us, expectedly we hoped for a firm win. However, unfortunately we lost in the end by 4 goals (26-30) after winning the first 3 quarters. Needless to say we were all disappointed! There was still lots of fantastic play on court though – Charlotte Hughes (WD) for example made some brilliant interceptions, as well as Georgia Payne (GK) who was picked as the well-deserved ‘man of the match’ after a great all-round defensive game. We definitely started well but perhaps became complacent and low-spirited after the opposition started to up their game. Nevertheless, girls, I’m sure we’ll take many areas of improvement as well as positives from the match, and apply these to our league game next week!

Portsmouth Development Squad vs Surrey Development Squad
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Portsmouth 35 – Surrey 5
Written by: Sally Tibbitts

Portsmouth Netball club have a strong Intramural programme. With this in mind, this year’s committee have set up a Development Squad for talented players that were not successful in making a BUCS team. We have set up friendly matches throughout the year with southern coast universities. This allows the Development Squad to gain competitive match play and also have the morale of being on a team. The first match of the season was against Surrey University. The 12th of November was their first game against Surrey, putting extra nerves on all the girls, particularly those fresher’s that had never represented the university before. The first quarter started slow as some nerves did show as both teams were struggling to convert. With accurate feeds into the attacking circle by Alice Berry and Aisha Roslan as well as some great timed movement from both Francesca Gallagher and Daisy Fisher as shooters, we were up 6-2. With no changes made by captain Beth Humphris we went into the second quarter feeling confident. With some amazing defensive pressure and turnovers from the defence, Jess Back and Jess Clarke were soon moving the ball down the court and turning the rebounds into goals.  In the 3rd quarter, Emily Chapman came on court as a defensive player, making it very hard for the shooters to work the ball around the circle. With shooters, Fran and Daisy, working comfortable in the circle, Portsmouth managed to pull away and shine. In the last quarter, Portsmouth were leading 25-4. With some changes made, Emily Chapman stepped up onto centre court with Jess and Jess back in the defence. With a confident three quarters, Portsmouth went all out in the last quarter achieving a goal per minute for the final ten minutes. The final score was 35-5. Players Player was awarded to Francesca Gallagher and Surrey awarded Aisha Roslan with Player of the Match.

Portsmouth Intramural vs Surrey Intramural
Home or Away: Away
Final Score: Portsmouth 19 – Surrey 4
Written by: Hayley Williams

This being Intra’s first match the nerves were quite high all round, but when the game got going we got off to a good start, managing to score 6 goals in the first quarter. Attack were working really well keeping the ball up our end and scoring goal after goal, bringing the score up to 12-2 by half time. Defence were doing a great job to. When the ball was in Surrey’s third it wasn’t there for long due to Amy F’s great keeping and the rest of the defence’s hard work. Sally and Amy’s advice throughout the match helped us raise our game in the second half, where we brought the final score up to 19-4. Well done girls, great first match, let’s keep it up!