In this female dominated sport, lets talk about men for a change right?!?! ;-) No? Ok, before I get hooked off, I’ll quickly move on… but Fathers Day was falling on ‘Game Day’ this weekend and we have our fair share of Netball Dads who show up every weekend who need to be celebrated, right guys! You fellas better back me up as I don’t fancy taking on all these strong, confident women on my own.

Two more games in the ‘Pulse Cup’ this week and two more division one sides to pit ourselves against. Back to full strength and with M Lewis a whole year older following her birthday on Friday, Sapphires were good to go! Songs already sang at training and melted choccies’ all round, it was just time to step back onto Court 9 (I am pretty sure I have already stated I don’t like this court and this week doesn’t help this theory).

PULSE CUP - GAME 3
Tigers on Tigers, up against a Maulden side finishing in the lower half of division 1 but a side already being beaten by our familiar Rubies, there was still all to play for.
Captain MARTIN took to the ‘scissor, paper, stone’ ritual before the bell sounding long before either teams nor the umpires were ready to take to the court. Not quite understanding the benefit and having seen the outcome of this before, we would find ourselves with a quarter drastically shortened and less time to impose ourselves.
Despite an even opening, we were still not at our best, the league ‘hangover’ or half term ‘hangover’ I am not sure but we were facing a team that we were capable of beating. The first 3 goals going the way of Maulden would suggest otherwise.

QUARTER ONE - MAULDEN TIGERS 3 BEDFORD TIGERS SAPPHIRES 0
We dusted ourselves down for the second quarter and lost some of our typical slow start, being more competitive but losing transaction when we met their long rangey defender who even was troubling some of our tallest players. Some persistence and resilience paid off with a last minute through ball, this time finding O PYECROFT who found space and the ring. The whistle blows and its 1 quarter a piece!

QUARTER TWO - MAUDEN TIGERS 0 BEDFORD TIGERS SAPPHIRES 1

We fell foul of our own play in the third quarter, to be pipped by a winning goal on the whistle. Passes were just hitting the spot, defending the shooting player are all things we take away and move into training… its all growth but frustrating for all including the players and a few letting their emotions out! That’s OK! We are OK with that! It just shows how passionate they are, and their drive to improve and give their best for the team. I’ll take that!
By example, even a collision and cut lip on D LYNCH couldn’t shake the mental toughness and prevent her swilling a mouthful of water and getting back onto court.

QUARTER THREE - MAULDEN TIGERS 1 BEDFORD TIGERS 0

The final quarter was a uneventful affair with lots of ‘nearly’s’ at both ends but neither team could convert. A evenly matched game really all in all but it didn’t reflect the best of Sapphires but many players had put themselves around the court and the Captain demonstrating that first hand, as L MARTIN exited ‘stage’ the reddened face and exhausted look really demonstrated she had ‘emptied the tank’ … in doing so really upped her game defensively, with a new found focus in those positions to which it is fair to say she was not a fan of at the start of the season.

Lost 2 quarters, won 1 and drew one… probably a fair result given the performance
G AYLING got the handshake and voted players player for the match from the Maulden players who had also covered so much of the court and was busy defensively throughout.

PULSE CUP - GAME 4
Stuck on this damn Court 9 for yet another game! Give us a break!
This time it was the turn of one of the Westoning teams… the Gemini’s. All in bright pink and clearly with some lofty players to play with we were set for another difficult fixture.
…one thing I was thankful for was getting assistant Kate back from her hiatus to football last weekend. We will forgive her…. In time! Especially as I feel lost without her on the court. I leave her scribbling away and chasing the umpires around and another bell goes.
It was a different Tigers team taking to the court, you could see the difference from the word ‘go’, the sharpness, the speed through the passing phases and the energy around the court!
The defence pairing of E AYLING and L HABERSHON was one that seemed to really work, that hadn’t been tried before, both ‘all energy’ and with some perfectly timed interceptions. This allowed some excellent counter play from the baseline which made their way to a eagerly anticipating E HIGGENS; we joked at training as she told me she ‘wasn’t bothered about shooting training’ so warned her she better deliver on Sunday then…. Well we joked again mid-quarter as a few missed timed efforts she found her ‘shooting arm’ with goals in the 2nd and 4th minute, and was back in the zone. We might re-visit that shooting this week! But that was enough to win the quarter comfortably.

QUARTER ONE - BEDFORD TIGERS SAPPHIRES 2 WESTONING GEMINI 0

The second was more even and we were disrupted by the ‘long game’ being played by this Westoning side, some long range shoulder passes took a while to get to grips with and something the Gemini’s were used to playing with their attackers dropping off for the ‘over the top’ ball, having some success. No goals to be had this quarter. A draw!

QUARTER TWO - BEDFORD TIGERS SAPPHIRES 0 WESTONING GEMINI 0

Getting into the third and with rotations finding D LYNCH into defence, she got to grips with that long ball and her timing made for some excellent interceptions and more ground being covered by the ‘engine’ E AYLING at the back. An early lead taken from a L HABERSHON finish of her own rebound was nullified seconds away from the end whistle, calling this one a draw.

QUARTER THREE - BEDFORD TIGERS 1 WESTONING GEMINI 1

We were spoiled by four goals in the final quarter 2coming by the way of Tigers, getting another early lead from that HABERSHON, E AYLING pairing, this time in attack with persistence and sheer determination winning out. One each!
A couple of late goals from a persevering Westoning side saw this quarter also come to the second third draw of the game and with winning the first, it was a positive display and good marker post to show we can beat teams in the ‘big leagues’ (even when we are not 100%… and that what makes teams great). 5-3 overall!

QUARTER FOUR - BEDFORD TIGERS SAPPHIRES 2 WESTONING GEMINI 2

…next weeks picks up the final games of this cup competition with fixtures from the postponed games scheduled for May.

Players players voted by the team in pink went to E AYLING but this weeks STAR PLAYER is awarded to L MARTIN for her growth defensively, her increased efforts across both games and listening and learning to the coach (which always gets you browny points), being more vocal when is space. Well deserved!