Match Report
Amber Dite & Sarah Brown / England Netball
Amber Dite & Sarah Brown / England Netball
Dragons show fire in their belly to overcome Mavericks in classic battle
Celtic Dragons bounced back excellently in round three of the FIAT Netball Superleague as they showed no signs of being demoralised after defeat against Team Northumbria last week. Hertfordshire Mavericks put up a tremendous fight and the score of 48 - 39 reflected how close this clash was. However, the Welsh victory was well deserved and it could now be argued that the Dragons have gone some way to proving that they are not a ‘one-dimensional team.’
The first few minutes of the game did little justice to the majority of the match. The Mavericks began play and there were numerous clumsy passes and missed opportunities from each team. The visitors successfully fed the ball into the circle, however, two missed shots provided the Dragons with an opportunity and they drove the ball back up court with some fast, strong passes. This was rewarded when the legendary Lottysha Cato scored the first goal for the Dragons after a penalty was awarded for distance and the hosts scored first, 1-0. This was closely followed by another goal from Cato, which was a brilliantly set-up by captain, Suzy Drane.
A closely fought battle between the two rivals ensued, Mavericks winning back possession with an interception that helped to increase the pace, leading to a fantastic goal by Vicklyn Joseph. They continued to fully utilise both ends of the shooting circle, which allowed them to score again and close the gap to 7- 4. However, Karen Atkinson’s side failed to keep close to their opponents, and stood helpless as the Dragons carried out some lovely cross court passes into the arms of Cara Moseley. The skill of the players really started to come to light here, especially when Crystal George unleashed her fantastic defence strategy. Overall the Dragons lead by 15-7 after the first quarter.
Chants exploded from each team before the second quarter and it was clear that this was set to be a fierce game. The Dragons started brightly and Cato effortlessly scored within the first minute of play. Their success continued with a brilliant interception by George, leaving her to think quickly and find a receiver for her one footed pass, successfully given to Sophie Morgan, leading to another goal 18-10. An impressive jump by Sasha Corbin instantly caught the crowd’s attention as she grasped the ball while spinning in mid-air. She was particularly alert during this quarter and set up several scoring opportunities for the Mavericks. Despite Corbin’s best efforts, her team were increasingly unlucky in the circle until Alice Ewer’s persistence paid off with a well-earned goal bringing the score up to 19-11.
Celtic were continuing to apply the pressure and Cato had the crowd on tenterhooks as she sent the ball spinning around the hoop …after an agonising wait the ball popped out, but the tall Grenadian instantly caught the rebound and extended the lead to 21 - 13. The pace began to slow and Ewer appeared to crumble a little under the pressure when she missed the opportunity to shoot without any surrounding defence. With mere seconds before the end of the half, Cato worked her magic and the scored again to put her side firmly in control with a 24-16 advantage.
The game was launched into its third quarter by a fantastic succession of passes by the Mavericks, with no player letting any balls go without a fight. Ewer shot a great long-distance goal and followed it with another classy score to put the Dragons under serious pressure as the visitors fought back to 24-20. Corbin was still a shining light, making herself constantly available as she set up numerous goal opportunities for the Mavericks. However, tensions seemed to build after an accidental clash between Corbin and Nichola James, the pair started to shadow each other in the aftermath. James was a particularly strong player for Melissa Hyndman’s side during this quarter as she worked hard to drive the ball to the attackers, to put the hosts back in the driving seat. The game really picked up with the tempo back to its early best by this point and there was some tremendous play by the Mavericks in the lead up to a Steffi Burt conversion. In an exhilarating follow up, Stephanie Williams sparked a chain of strong passes amongst the Dragons and Cato effortlessly scored.
Morgan, now at centre, was linking excellently with Emma Thomas who had replaced Moseley at GA. The young shooter showed great composure to finish off a delightful move. The see-saw style of the match continued as Mavericks pulled back to within six only for Cato to again to dash their hopes with a late score to pull Celtic 36-28 clear heading into the final quarter. An exhilarating quarter was expected with the crowd getting more and more involved, appreciative of the fantastic match they were witnessing. The intensity of the game refused to fizzle out as no matter how tired and fatigued the players were, they insisting on fighting for possession. In a contact between Josie Huckle and Cato, Huckle called time after being hurled to the floor. The Mavericks defender showed her mental and physical resilience and she was soon up again and ready to commit her all.
In the closing stages the Dragons maintained possession and Cato was back on top form to finally ease the nerves of the crowd and move Celtic 40 – 30 ahead. Although the match was now beyond reach, Mavericks refused to settle and were relentless during the final 60 seconds as they managed to score two fantastic goals to end the game on a high. The spoils certainly belonged to the Dragons but they would have left the court knowing they were in a hard fought, spirited encounter. Mavericks will once again need to bounce back from defeat as the battle for a top four spot continues in what is proving to be a remarkable season already.
Umpires: Judith Groves and Rachel Zillwood, Jo Stentiford as reserve umpire
Team line-ups:
Celtic Dragons: GS - Cato, GA - Moseley, WA - Morgan, C - Drane, WD - James, GD - Williams, GK - George. Bench: Thomas, Lewis, Abbot, Pretorius, Jones
Hertfordshire Mavericks: GS - Joseph, GA - Craig, WA - Corbin, C - Morgan-Smith, WD - Buchanan, GD - Keable, GK - Huckle. Bench: Ewer, Burt, Haynes, Austin
Shooting Stats:
Celtic Dragons: Cato: 35/40 - 88% Moseley: 8/10 - 80% Thomas: 5/5 - 100% Team: 48/55 - 87%
Hertfordshire Mavericks: Joseph: 13/19 - 68% Craig: 1/4 - 25% Ewer: 10/16 - 63% Burt: 15/18 - 83% Team: 39/57 - 68%