PUBLISHED 04 October 2019
AKS Year 9 netballers braved the wet and windy conditions to take part in the Fylde & Wyre U14 tournament at Stanley Park and came away with some impressive results with the B team being crowned champions and the A team finishing in a creditable 3rd place.
The B team took a while to get used to the windy conditions and slippery ball in their first game against St,Bedes but they gradually started to keep possession more effectively and went into an early lead. Good shooting from Patsy at one end and good defending from Anna at the other were the foundation for our first win 4 - 1. The second match was against a skilful St.Aidans side who marked closely and made it difficult for us to find free players. Both sides were guilty of throwing away possession and at the break the scores were level. The scores remained close in the second half and at the final whistle nothing could separate the teams , the score being 2-2 and the points were shared. Our third game against Millfield was also close. We scored first but Millfield were soon back on level terms with some accurate shooting . At times we dodged well and passed accurately to work the ball down the court which enabled us to edge ahead and at the final whistle the score was a 3-2 victory and three more points on the board. We went into the final game knowing that we were in with a shout of top spot and we played our best netball of the day. Great defending from Mady and Anna won back possession frequently and with Charley , Kate and Caris getting free well we moved the ball into our attacking third effectively. Katie and Patsy worked well in the circle to get into good positions and with accurate shooting they put us into an early 2-0 lead . Lytham got a goal back before the break and at half time we had a narrow 3-1 lead. The second half saw us determined to take the trophy and we played our best netball and with great movement, accurate passing and superb shooting we went further ahead and at the final whistle we were celebrating a 7-1 victory and the accolade of being crowned Fylde &Wyre B Team Champions and came away with winners medals.
The A team started with a superb 10-0 victory against Lytham High thanks to excellent defending from Beth and Olivia, great movement on the court and accurate shooting from Lucy and Amelie. Our second game saw us up against a very skilful St.Aidans side. We struggled to keep pace with their fast and accurate passing and St.Aidans created a lot of scoring opportunities whilst we often squandered the possession we had but at half time the scores were level at 0-0. The second half saw us raise our level of play and pass the ball more accurately to create scoring opportunities of our own but the excellent St.Aidans defence thwarted our best efforts. St.Aidans Continue to play accurate controlled netball and with an improved shot conversion rate in the second half they went into the lead and at the final whistle the score was 0-4.
The third game saw us get back to winning ways with a narrow 3-2 win against Millfield. Beth defended superbly against the very tall Millfield shooter and with Maddie working hard to link our attack and defence and good shooting from Amelie we just got our noses infront at the final whistle to add more points to our tally and keep us in with a shout of a semi-final place. Our final pool game saw us take on Lytham High and we started to play with more accuracy and composure. Improved dodging saw us get free more effectively and we started to work the ball down the court to create scoring opportunities for shooters Amelie and Lucy which they duly converted to make the final score 7-1 and seal our place in the semi-final.
The semi-final saw us matched against Hodgson who had come through their group undefeated. We started well defending superbly but a few lapses in concentration saw Hodgson win back possession and punish us scoring three quick goals. Hodgson were well drilled and their fast, accurate movement and passing saw them constantly put us under pressure and accurate shooting saw them continue to add to their score. Under constant pressure we lost our composure and errors started to creep into our play which frequently gave Hodgson possession which they duly converted into goals. To the girls credit they continued to work hard all over the court and never gave up but at the final whistle we were beaten by the better team and Hodgson progressed into the final, which they went on to win and we took equal third place.
Congrtualtions to all the girls who played some great netball in poor conditions and on this showing the future looks bright for the U14 netball squad in the months ahead.