MATCH REPORT: U17, U19 & U21 IN NPL ACTION V MAVERICKS AND RHINOS
This past weekend our U17, U19 & U21 Academies were in action. First up our U19 & U21 teams faced Leeds Rhinos, followed by the U17 facing local rivals Saracens Mavericks. Coming away with wins for U19 & U17, here are our match reports.
U17 v Saracens Mavericks Match Report by Brogan Bostock
Pulse U17s have continuously been working hard in training, working on feedback and building connections for the challenge they knew they were going to face this week. After a tough loss in the first round, Pulse were feeling confident and ready to take on Saracens Mavericks U17s.
Starting line-up:
GS – Coco
GA – Sophie
WA – Ashley
C – Brogan
WD – Ava
GD – Jane
GK – Christine
Impact Players: Ella, Evie, Mia, Holly, Katie
Mavs took the first centre and scored the first goal. Pulse were unable to sink their first shot, allowing Mavs to get a 2 goal lead. With it being Mavs centre and a chance for them to take a three goal lead, Pulse’s defence marked tightly causing them to make an error which Pulse capitalised on with Coco getting the first goal for Pulse.
Pulse had a slow start to the game making unforced errors causing them to be 6-2 down after 5 minutes in. A tactical change saw Ella enter the court at GA during the quarter to help settle the attack. Shortly after, Christine got her first intercept of the game which Pulse managed to get to goal with Coco doing a quick roll to post receiving a pinpoint pass from Ella. Mavs continued to have a two goal lead for the next few minutes of the game but tight tracking from the defence helped Brogan get an intercept, although Pulse couldn’t take it to goal. Jane, shortly after, tracked tightly seeing her gain possession for Pulse but unfortunately the Pulse attack still hadn’t settled and couldn’t take it to goal. The game was level with the score being 10-10 after the first 11 minutes of the quarter.
Excellent tracking from Ava managing to tip the ball and chase down from Ella gave Pulse possession again, although the last feed in saw them lose it again. Ash was determined to get the ball back for Pulse and did just that, seeing Pulse take a lead by 1 goal, and seconds later 2 goals. The quarter finished with the score being 14-12 to Pulse.
Evie entered play at GD and Mia in at GS for the second quarter.
Pulse started the 2nd quarter better than the first, getting the first goal and then a turnover in defence saw us take a four goal lead. The defence worked extremely hard with Evie getting a strong rebound and Pulse transitioning the ball to goal at great speed. After 5 minutes of the quarter, Sophie re-entered the court doing strong drives to create space and pull the defence. A flying intercept from Evie on the centre pass and a strong hold from Mia under the post gave Pulse an eight goal lead half way through the quarter.
Seconds later, Evie got another intercept and helped bring the ball through court, laying it off to Ashley who did a quick give and go and gave the ball to Sophie driving in who then scored. With 4 minutes left of the quarter, Pulse’s defence caused Mavs to make another error giving Pulse a nine goal lead. Pulse lost the ball in the attack which drove Brogan on to come and get a strong intercept who then fed the ball off to Mia who did a strong drive to post. Christine was relentless in defence and came out with a tip again which Sophie picked up and helped bring to goal. Ava tracked tightly around the circle edge and managed to get a tip but unfortunately a Pulse player couldn’t pick it up.
The half time score was 29-20 to Pulse.
Katie entered the court at WD.
Mavs had the first centre of the second half but they couldn’t take it to goal as Evie came through with another intercept. A strong drive from Sophie into the back space left Mia free under the post helping Pulse further their lead. Shortly after, Sophie tracked tightly and got a tip but Pulse couldn’t get the ball. Evie came through with another intercept on the centre pass but Pulse lost the ball in the attack but that didn’t stop Christine from winning the ball back again and this time Brogan accurately passed the ball to Mia who scored. Pulse started the second half slightly unsettled but shortened their game up to help keep possession of the ball. Excellent tracking from Katie on the centre pass caused Mavs to throw the ball away in which Ella, who just re-entered the court at GA, gave an accurate pass to Mia under the post.
Ella not only worked hard in the attack but also in the defence getting an intercept in the middle third. Evie, again on the centre pass, got another intercept allowing Pulse to get an eleven goal lead. Pulse worked hard for the rest of the quarter with the score being 42-29 to Pulse.
Coco came back on at GS and Jane back on at GD.
Pulse had the first centre pass of the final quarter and got the ball to Coco who got the first goal of the quarter 20 seconds in. Ash shortly after won the ball for Pulse after getting a great intercept giving Pulse a 14 goal lead. A great roll from Coco to the post helped Pulse extend their lead. Christine got a strong rebound in defence but unfortunately Pulse couldn’t transition the ball through the court. Ella did a strong drive into the circle and quickly played it off to Coco under the post getting another goal for Pulse.
With Jane and Christine both shutting down their players in defence, Pulse got a turnover but the attack were slightly unsettled. During the quarter, Holly came on at centre and Brogan moved into the WA position. Another intercept from Christine in the defence and the work of Holly to bring the ball through court with a feed into Ella who nicely shot helped Pulse keep their lead. Ella continued working hard and got another intercept but Pulse couldn’t get it to goal. Strong one on one tracking from Katie caused Mavs to make an error with the final few seconds left. The final score was 52-39 to Pulse.
Pulse were extremely happy with the win, not losing a quarter and getting all 12 players on court.
Oppositions player of the match went to Brogan for her work rate and coaches player of the match went to Evie for her tight tracking and constant intercepts. Pulse U17s will work hard in the next few weeks before they face Bath in the next round.
Thank you to Mavericks for a well contested match and to the umpires and officials. Also a massive thank you to everyone who came and supported London Pulse!
U19 v Leeds Rhinos Match Report by Ellie Sadler
On the 22nd March the girls travelled up to the University of Hull to play Leeds Rhinos in the curtain raiser for the NSL match! After a few weeks’ break after playing Lightning we had a chance to focus on training and cement and build on our plays and connections. Spirits were high after a scoping out the court and going on a team walk, and we were ready to take on a strong Rhinos side.
Starting 7:
GS Coco Williams
GA Hannah Gibson
WA Daisy Beer
C Summer Chapman
WD Beth Long
GD Ellie Sadler
GK Zaneya Cunningham
Impact Players: J. Sigobodhla, E. Light, L. Levy, E. Greensmith
Quarter 1:
The girls had a bit of a slow start, with a few unforced errors resulting in Rhinos going up by 3 quite quickly out of the blocks. However, the team fought right back with Cunningham, Sadler and Long turning over ball and the shooters Gibson and Williams capitalising on it to bring us back to level. Incredible vision from Beer and Chapman led to some fantastic balls being passed into Williams when the Rhinos defenders went out on flies. One last push at the end of the quarter put us up by 2 going into the 2nd. Although we had won the 1st quarter, we still had much more work to do in terms of through court attack and making fewer unforced errors, so we kept pushing into the 2nd quarter.
Quarter 1 score: 14-12
Shooting stats for Q1:
Williams: 9/11
Gibson: 5/5
No changes for Quarter 2.
Quarter 2:
Defensively we continued to fine tune our partnerships, especially in the circle, and our attackers dominated with their strong drives and pinpoint feeds. We continued to forge on and widen our lead by putting on a large amount of through court defensive pressure, leading to held balls which can be attributed to the 7-player effort on defence. Halfway through the quarter, Light came on to GD, Sadler pushed back to GK and Cunningham went to the bench.
Quarter 2 score: 25-20
Shooting stats for Q1:
Williams: 4/5
Gibson: 7/7
Quarter 3 changes: Greensmith on at GS and Cunningham on at GD, Williams and Light to the bench.
Quarter 3:
The physicality increased this quarter with a few changes from Rhinos as well. Defensively we stepped up another notch, with turnovers being made all through court with the shooters making a number of interceptions and forcing balls off sidelines. Our pin point accuracy and well-timed, speedy through court drives made sure we capitalised on these turnovers. Despite a number of calls not going our way, the team kept their heads and stayed resilient. We had widened our lead slightly in Q3, however we were ambitious in our expectations for Q4 and the entire team was driven to increase our standard of play and improve our lead in Q4.
Quarter 3 score: 37-30
Shooting stats for Q3:
Greensmith: 9/10
Gibson: 6/6
Quarter 4 changes: Light on at WD, Long to the bench.
Quarter 4:
A final push at the end of the 4th quarter saw our lead consolidated with great moves in attack and further defensive turnovers and rebounds. The team did well not to get frustrated with some elements of the game, and kept spirits high and heads up to win the quarter. Levy came on to GA towards the end of the quarter, making an instant impact with 2 great goals.
Final score: 53-41
Shooting stats for Q4:
Greensmith: 8/9
Gibson: 6/6
Levy: 2/2
Overall shooting stats: 53/58 91%
Williams: 12/15 80%
Greensmith: 13/15 87%
Gibson: 26/26 100%
Levy: 2/2 100%
A well-contested challenge from Rhinos made for a great match.
Hannah Gibson – Coaches’ Player of the Match – shooting at 100%!!
Ellie Sadler – Opposition’s Player of the Match
U21 V Leeds Rhinos Match Report By Hannah Knightbridge
It was a testing day for Pulse U21’s as we faced Leeds Rhinos in the 7th round of the NPL league.
We had a challenging start after losing our first centre pass, but as a strong defensive unit, we managed to make some crucial interceptions which we took to goal. Likewise, the attacking unit worked exceptionally well as we capitalised on our centre passes and dealt with the Leeds’s physicality well. However, despite the sturdy start by the starting 7, Rhino’s took the lead after the first quarter by one goal.
After an encouraging team talk, it was all to play for in the second quarter. The same 7 took the court and we continued to apply defensive pressure which undeniably slowed down the oppositions passages of play. With Princess coming on for GK, the defence made a vast amount of turnovers, but unfortunately due to a lack of connection through court, we didn’t convert these to goal. This led Rhinos to pull away and ended the second quarter 27-23.
Our attacking work was highly effective in the third quarter which enabled us to close the gap in the score line. We started to use a greater variety of feeds which definitely unsettled the Leeds defence. This alongside the spectacular shooting from Ali and Regan gave us hope for a come back. A special mention goes to Regan, who was the coaches’ player of the match, which was undoubtedly deserved to her incredible 100% shooting percentage. Unfortunately though, due to silly errors throughout the court, this wasn’t enough for us to take the lead. Rhinos stayed ahead with 41-36.
After another inspiring team talk we took the court for the final 15 minutes. We had a strong start and we managed to claw the score back and we were only 2 down. Our energy and determination started to rise and the team started to unite and work together as a 7 again. However commendation to the opposition as they were a very well gelled team who hardly made any errors, which made it very difficult for us to make any final turnovers. This alongside some controversial decisions that didn’t go our way, meant that Leeds took the win 57-45.
As mentioned Regan Peters was the coaches player of the match and Leed’s player of the match went to Hannah Knightbridge. No one could fault our effort throughout the 60 minutes, however we need to come back stronger for our final two games of the season.