It was a momentous second cup game of the year for Birmingham women’s netball team. The team started in a strong position, having not lost a game yet this season, leaving them at the top of the league. Confidence was evidently high for the Birmingham 2’s.
The first-quarter saw Birmingham steam ahead, with the final score standing at 16-6 in Birmingham’s favour. Captain Jess Green (GA) scored the most goals for the team, which really helped Birmingham stretch their lead and open up a big goal difference between the two sides. Another key player for Brum was Amelia Hempleman-Adams (GK), her excellent defending proved increasingly frustrating for the Brooke’s attack, who failed to score the amount of points that their early domination deserved. After this early set-back Birmingham regained their composure and despite actually having less opportunities than Brookes, their greater accuracy lead to their impressive lead. Birmingham’s clinical shooting was a key factor in their eventual victory.
As the second-quarter drew to a close the scoreboard read 34-14 to Birmingham. Birmingham’s game was just too strong for Brookes who started to make sloppy passes, allowing Birmingham to gain complete control of the game.
Birmingham’s momentum was turned on its head in the third-quarter saw the dynamic of the game change as Oxford Brookes substituted their initial Goal Shooter. The new GS posed a very different problem for the Birmingham defence, as she was incredibly tall and her impressive arm span helped Brookes to make several goals, leaving the score at 47-25 to Birmingham. This really helped to spur Brookes on for the final quarter.
However, Brooke’s substitution was not enough to claw back enough points to close the chasm that Birmingham had created. Birmingham steamed ahead in the final quarter, showing their real dominance, leading to an impressive 62-27 victory, their second highest score of the season. Despite their huge successes there was a disappointing lack of crowd support for the team, which myself and my co-commentator hope to see improved in future weeks.
UoB Netball 2nd VII vs Oxford Brookes 1s by Burnfm_Sport on Mixcloud
Jaye Best
