IWD Celebration of Our Athletes from Academy to NSL
On Saturday, ahead of round 5 of the NSL, Pulse hosted a celebration of its amazing female athletes at the Copper Box Arena as our U17, U19, U21 and SuperLeague squads all faced Surrey Storm on the show court. A hugely successful day that ended with London Pulse taking 4 wins from 4 matches.
Sam Bird “With International Women’s Day a few days after this matchday, we wanted to take the change to celebrate all of our female athletes and give everyone the opportunity to showcase their awesome talent on this huge stage.”
Read on for the reports from all of the matches.
NSL Match Report: London Pulse 52 Surrey Storm 47
After a tough loss at home last week, Pulse were fired up to get back to winning ways iin front of another Pulse record crowd at the CopperBox Arena of over 2300 fans.
The first quarter started off tight with the game going goal for goal to reach 6-6. Storm then went on a run of 3 goals. Olivia and Alicia sent the Copper Box crowd into early meltdown with amazing attacking turnovers and slick attacking play. The first quarter ended with Storm edging it 12-14
Pulse made no changes to start Q2 and Liv landed the first goal. Pulse made a number of strong turnovers with slick defensive pressure from Zara, Hali and Funmi. Unfortunately Pulse struggled to convert the turnovers and midway through the 2nd Storm has pushed their lead out to 8. Storm were then called for an attacking contact and, which Pulse took to goal and with that the momentum of the quarter shifted. Ash Dekker entered the court at WA and Pulse brought the deficit back to 4 at halftime – 23-27.
Whilst Storm had won the 2nd quarter by two the momentum shift continued into the 3rd quarter. Pulse made no changes for Q3 and quickly brought the scores level. With a flurry of activity and a Funmi turnover (standard), a perfectly weighted ball into Liv from Ash and a caution for Leah Middleton, Pulse moved into the lead. Strong defensive play from Pulse forced a number of mistakes from Storm including 3 second calls and balls lost off court. As the quarter drew to a close, Pulse had executed a 10 goal swing to go into the final quarter leading 40-34.
The final quarter once again saw no changes for Pulse and an immediate warning issues to Mikki Austin for delaying play. With the first few goals going Pulse’s way, Storm then found some momentum and brought the score from within 8 to within 4. With 6 minutes to go it was not clear if Pulse would be able to withstand the pressure as Storm brough the score back to 44-43. The final five minutes on court were tense and spicy with the crowd noise hitting record levels. With 4 minutes left on the clock – Storm centre pass – NOT RECEIVED. Bodies were flying everywhere as all involved where working to take the win. But it was Pulse that remained calm and collected. Jade threw a huge ball into Liv which she converted and then Hali pulled a massive intercept out of her pocket – pushing the Pulse lead out to five.
As the full-time whistle blew, Pulse handed Storm their first loss of the season 52-47.
Player of the Match was awarded to Halimat Adio who had this to say:
Halimat Adio: It means so much to be back on court and celebrating this win with this fantastic team. We were able to keep pushing through even when it was tough and grind out the win.
U17 NPL Match Report by Brogan Bostock – London Pulse 58 v Surrey Storm 39
After two more weeks of training and a friendly against Leeds Rhinos (since our last NPL match vs Bath), the U17s were fired up and ready for their second NPL game on Saturday 4th March vs Surrey Storm. The U17s were super excited to play at their home venue, the Copper Box Arena, and fired up to be play on the show court. London Pulse knew that they were going to have to work hard for the win against Surrey Storm who recently had a close game against Severn Stars.
Starting Line-Up:
GS – Coco
GA – Ella C
WA – Daisy
C – Brogan
WD – Ella B
GD – Ellie
GK – Zaneya
Bench – Sadie, Phoebe, Lauren, Rae, Amreet
After a slow start in their last game, London Pulse had the task of coming out with a strong start and getting ahead early. London Pulse defence started to turn over the ball and the attack made a great start safely converting turnovers to goal, London Pulse got the lead that they wanted. The London Pulse shooters shot well which meant that they could head into the second quarter with a first quarter score line of 18-7 to Pulse.
No changes for start of Q2.
London Pulse continued their through court pressure leading to turnovers which gave them opportunities to capitalise on and stretch their lead further. Brogan coming off at C towards the end of the quarter meant that Sadie could step in and impact play at WA and Daisy could move to C. London Pulse played with speed and composure winning the quarter by 5 resulting in a half time score of 31-15 to London Pulse.
No changes for start of Q3.
Surrey Storm came out fighting after half time making London Pulse work hard to bring the ball through court. Lauren came on court making her Pulse U17 debut and stepped in as WD helping the London Pulse defence win countless amounts of balls. With the shooters presenting clearly and having high shooting stats it saw London Pulse win the quarter 15-13.
Changes for Q4 – Brogan to C, Phoebe to WA, Sadie to GA, Ellie to GK, Zaneya to GD
London Pulse continued to work hard pushing through the last 15 minutes to finish strong. Throughout the quarter, Lauren rotated into C helping London Pulse keep their lead. Rae stepped in at GA, Phoebe at WA and Amreet at WD all getting their U17 London Pulse debuts. The team kept calm and composed throughout the final quarter contributing to a final score of 58-39.
The U17s were very proud of their performance, celebrating player NPL debuts, winning all quarters and everyone getting the opportunity to impact play on court. Player of the match went to Coco Williams for her great holds and strong shooting stats. Coaches’ player went to Daisy Beer for her connections throughout the court and her pinpoint feeds to the shooters.
Thank you to Surrey Storm for a well contested match and to the coaches, umpires, officials and everyone who came to support London Pulse.
The U17’s will continue to work hard at training preparing for their next NPL match against Saracens Mavericks on the 18th March.
U19 Match Report by Amani Kohler 51 Pulse – 24 Storm
For London Pulse U19’s seventh fixture we were lucky enough to play in what is often known as the home of England netball, the Copper Box Arena. With the U19 Pulse girls holding a strong spot at the top of the league, we went into the game feeling excited but ready to fight to retain our spot there.
Starting line up:
GK – Tami Fapohunda GD – Sasha Howard WD – Izzi Phillips C – Sophia Shalabi WA – Hannah Knightbridge GA – Hannah Gibson GS – Hannah Anyanwu
Amani Kohler Ronnie Thomas Zahra Kateregga Jess Symonds Daisy Beer
In quarter one we saw a very strong fight from both sides, and maybe a few moments when we could feel the pressure. However, even with the excitement of playing to a crowd and in such an iconic venue, it was clear that Pulse had set out to win. Through some excellent passages of play, 100% shooting numbers for Hannah A and strong defensive pressure from the entire squad with turnovers in all thirds of the court, we ended the quarter with a clear lead but one we knew we could expand on.
End of Q1 Score – 14-9 to Pulse
Q2 changes – Sophia to WA and Hannah K to C
With another strong start from Pulse at the beginning of the second quarter, the girls looked like we were beginning to dominate. However, Storm came back strong and pushed our girls to work very hard in the later stages of this quarter. Finally, after a perfect centre pass to goal record and an impressive step up of turnovers to goal, the girls were able to end the quarter with a strong 11 goal lead.
End of Q2 Score – 24-13 to Pulse
Q3 changes – Daisy to WA
Quarter three saw yet another step up from the defence with total turnovers increasing to an impressive value of 14 within the quarter. After Daisy stepping onto court as an impact player and a more energised team performance in the first few minutes of the quarter, we saw a couple really lovely passages of play through attack. However, this quarter did see some strong pushback from the Storm players and the final quarter score reflected this with a smaller 11-7 lead.
End of Q3 Score – 35-20 to Pulse
Q4 changes – Hannah K at WA, Sophia to C
Going in to quarter 4 the girls were really gunning for a strong win that could solidify our spot at the top of the league. With the Storm circle defence really pushing us throughout the first 3 quarters, the girls saw that it was time to step up. That they definitely did. Through a slightly change in the mindset of the attack we were seeing some more confident feeds into Hannah at GS. This meant that we were able to round off the game excellently with a 16-4 scoreline in the fourth quarter.
Final score – 51-24 to Pulse
Special shout out to…
Opponents player of the match Hannah A – who persevered throughout the entire game and showed strong resilience against a strong GK, finishing with an excellent shooting record of around 90%.
Coaches player of the match Tami – who worked tirelessly in a competitive game of netball and contributed to an excellent 52 overall turnovers as a team and multiple interceptions individually.
Thank you Surrey Storm for an excellent and well contested game! Also, thank you so much to the excellent umpires and officials who are so important to the game. Final thank you to everyone who came to support in the stands of such an iconic arena; it really pushed the team forwards and over time it was clear that the squad was thriving off the support we have been luck enough to receive.
U21 Match report by Freya Henshall London pulse 46 Surrey Storm 33
Starting line-up:
GS: Emily GilliesGA: Freya HenshallWA: Beth LongC: Ellie ChambersWD: Jade PopoolaGD: Isla MayGK: Darcie EverittBench: Matilda Smyth, Indi Olunloyo, Jess Symonds, Ebiso Whyte, Suzie HuntThe Pulse U21s faced Surrey Storm at their home venue Copper Box Arena, with all the tickets sold out and a solid week at training Pulse were ready to show their home crowd what they had to offer.Pulse knew a strong start was needed so when they lost possession on their first centre pass the defensive pressure was immense. Pulse setting up a through court zone denied storm the opportunity to exit the centre third; a the whole team effort allowed Isla to come through with the intercept and was rewarded with a goal. Pulse pushed on for the rest of the quarter finishing head 12-8No changes were made at quarter timeRelentless efforts from pulses defence caused errors and intercepts along side great feeds from mid courters Ellie Chambers and Beth Long into some hard drives by Freya Henshall entering the circle, capitalising on those turnovers. Mid quarter changes saw Jess Symonds come on at GS. Storm defence kept pushing pulse in their attacking efforts causing errors and loose ball resulting with the quarter score to be a draw.Half time: pulse 22- Storm 18Half time changes:GS: Jess SymondsGA: Freya HenshallWA: Beth LongC: Ellie ChambersWD: Ebiso WhyteGD: Isla MayGK: Jade PopoolaThe third quarter was a strong one for pulse winning the quarter 10-3 setting them up nicely for the last quarter. A full team effort was displayed and the quarter was finished at pulse 32- storm 21.No changes were made for pulse going into the last quarter. In the last quarter Storm didn’t go without a fight and really tested Pulse’s ability to show a consistent performance. However the team ground out a solid performance with lots of positives but also highlighted the areas that still need to be worked on.A fabulous team effort to finished the game 46-33 to London Pulse. Congratulations to Freya Henshall on PoM. Thank you to Storm, the umpires, all the official and supports. Pulse face Central Warriors in the next round on the 18th March.