In what can only be described as their most competitive match yet, Burn FM Netball took on AllSorts 4’s, resulting in an 11-10 victory.
Another Sunday, another match for the Burn FM netball team. Contrary to the dire weather conditions in the previous week’s match, this game was fortunately overlooked by bright blue skies. Though, being both ball-less and umpire-less at the beginning of the game, the first fifteen minutes were spent watching the opponents practice what looked like well-rehearsed passing and shooting drills. Though Burn could have been fazed by this, spirits were kept high through words of encouragement and discussions of strategy.
The first quarter of the game saw Bella Shepherd-Evans as centre, who was quick to get the ball to the wing players, Sadie Iddenden and Ellie Reed. Strong defence skills were shown by Jasmine Sandhar, which allowed Burn to obtain the ball and score a goal, smoothly shot by Evie Carter. Despite solid efforts from all Burn players, AllSorts certainly did shine in this quarter, as they secured a 3-point advantage.
In the second quarter, Cecilia Lockyer stepped up to play centre, which was performed with both strong defence and attack abilities, and Shepherd-Evans swapped to goal attack. The dynamic between Carter and Shepherd-Evans in the goal circle proved successful, as Burn were able to score a further four goals and keep pace with the competitive nature of AllSorts.
After half-time, Maddie Dowds was replaced as wing attack and Oscar Frost made his Burn netball debut as goalkeeper. Frost was quick to make interceptions and rebounds in the goal third, which resulted in Burn dominating possession of the ball and securing four more impressive goals, overtaking AllSorts with a 9-8 score.
The final quarter of the game was tense; with the one point difference, it was anyone’s game. Both teams made fierce efforts to keep control of the ball, and each team managed to up their goal score by two points consecutively. Burn players were challenged by AllSorts’ unyielding skilful performance, though with good communication and spatial awareness, Burn were able to maintain the upper hand. The final score was 11-10 to Burn.
Overall, this was a really strong game for Burn, with Sandhar being appointed as player of the match. Feeling chuffed with another win and a progression to third place in the league, the team went for celebratory soft drinks in the sunshine. Burn are now keen to keep up this winning streak and give it their all again in next week’s game.
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