Team Derby Win Exciting Netball Encounter
Team Derby’s Netball 4s won a tightly-contested home affair against higher-level University of Worcester 4s.
Shooter Sophie Wallace was the star but it was a real team effort from all of the girls in orange to pull off the 31-29 victory.
Derby started strongly with four unanswered goals, but Worcester fought back to make it 8-8 at quarter-time. There was some wasteful shooting from the home side but they were showing great determination to win the ball back in the attacking third.
In the second and third quarter there was nothing between the sides; every player defended well. The quarter ended with just one goal in it – Worcester moved to 21, a goal clear of Derby.
But with the loud Derby support behind them the home side pushed on in the final quarter, with the defence picking up plenty of rebounds and the ball making it all the way to goal. The shooters finished brilliantly to help Derby regain the lead and finish victorious.
After the match, captain Fern Turner remarked that the most impressive part of the performance was the way the team kept playing through all four quarters.
She said: “We were losing at the end of the second quarter, and then in the third and the fourth quarter we absolutely smashed it! The support from everyone really rallied us on and helped us.
“We definitely need to keep the spirit between us all, and it was good that we showed we had good fitness to keep up with a team that was in the league above us.”
She also picked out centre Marie-Noel Nji for praise, as the midcourter had really held the team together throughout the game with endless running and intelligent passing.
Team Derby now have two wins from two this season.
BY: TOM MCGRATH, HANNAH ROBERTS AND JOE LIGHTFOOT
