NPL Match Reports: London Pulse Travel To Team Bath for U17, U19 & U21 Matches
Last weekend all 3 academy squads travelled to Bath to face Team Bath in the U17, U19 & U21 NPL Matches. Taking away wins in 2 of the 3 matches, here are our match reports from members of each team.
U17 NPL Match Report by Oonagh – Team Bath 41 London Pulse 48
This was the first NPL match for the U17s who had been training hard throughout pre-season and were raring to go for their season opener. After a long journey up to Bath the girls were buzzing and eager to get out on the court. Pulse faced a strong Bath side who had a tight contest against Seven Stars before, so they knew it was going to be a tough game.
Starting line-up:
GS- Coco
GA- Sadie
WA- Daisy
C- Brogan
WD- Oonagh
GD- Ellie
GK- Zaneya
Bench- Ella, Phoebe, Lauren, Rae, Alette
Initially Pulse was behind, with Bath coming out with a strong start. This was followed by Oonagh the WD coming off due to injury and Ella stepping in as WD. However, Pulse remained determined, turnover of ball and shooters maintaining percentages above 85% closed the gap and put them ahead. Pulse ended the quarter with a one goal lead and a score line of 10-11.
Changes for Q2- Zaneya GD, Ellie GK
Despite their one goal lead Pulse were met with a fired-up Bath side in quarter 2. Slight errors were made and maintaining possession became difficult. Ella coming off towards the end of the quarter meant Alette had her opportunity to impact play. Pulse with their grit and flare managed to minimise the gap and with 100% shooting stats the end of quarter 2 saw a score line of 25-19 to Bath.
Changes for Q3- Ellie GD, Zaneya GK
Pulse entered this quarter with a fresh mindset, determined to get ahead of the opposition. Hard work and resilience in defence meant ball was constantly being turned over, limiting Bath’s chances at scoring. Attack made sure to capitalise on this by protecting ball and delivering it to shooters. Shooters also managed to maintain percentages above 90. Pulse continued to battle hard, playing with composure and passion that resulted in reducing the score line 36-32 to Bath and Pulse winning the quarter by 2 goals.
Changes for Q4- Ella WD
With 15 minutes left to play, Pulse did not falter. They were relentless in their ability to work as a team to cause defensive pressure with intercepts being taken throughout court. This was mimicked in their attacking end where safety of ball and calmness gave them every opportunity to further their lead. Once again, the shooters showed their talent by achieving shooting stats above 80% for the quarter and an astounding 92% overall. This contributed to an incredible final score of 41-48 to Pulse.
Player of the match went to Ellie for her undeniable contribution to the defensive unit and sheer number of turnovers. Coaches’ player went to Zaneya for her ability to receive and apply feedback as well as her turnover stats.
Thank you to Bath for such a thrilling and well contested match. Also, a thank you to the umpires and everyone that came down to support.
The U17s look forward to their friendly against Leeds Rhinos this weekend and their next NPL fixture against Storm on 4th March!
U19 NPL Match Report by Ronnie: TEAM BATH 53 LONDON PULSE 57 FEBRUARY
Much excitement and anticipation was in the air as Pulse U19s travelled to Bath University to take on Team Bath in a top of the Table clash, where both Teams were putting their unbeaten records on the line.
The starting seven was as follows ;-
GS – Hannah A
GA – Hannah G
WA – Hannah K
C – Sophia
WD – Izzi
GD – Sasha
GK – Tami
Bench – Amani. Indi, Ellie, Jess, Ronnie
With the importance of the match clearly on everyone’s mind, the initial exchanges were pretty frantic and it was clear from very early on that the Teams were evenly matched. The first quarter saw a number of mistakes from both sides and when the buzzer went for the end of the quarter the score was close with Pulse holding a 1 goal lead.
End of Q1 Score – 13 – 14 Pulse
Q2 changes – No Team Changes
The players had now clearly settled, which enabled the teams to play some really slick netball with the ball being transitioned from defence to attack at pace. With both sets of shooters very accurate the score pretty much went goal for goal, however at the end of the quarter Pulse had extended the lead to 3.
End of Q2 Score – 27 – 30 Pulse
Q3 changes – Sophia to WA, Hannah K to C, Sasha to WD, Izzi to GD
The 3rd quarter went back and forth with the momentum swinging one way and then the other. Team Bath came out of the blocks fast and played some tremendous Netball, swinging the ball accurately around the attacking circle, and defensively closing down the space when Pulse attacked. They not only closed the deficit but took a one goal lead 37 – 36. At this point the Pulse girls raised their intensity, began to turnover more ball and began to find holes in the Team Bath defence. This
was the period when the game was won, Pulse managed to turn around a 1 goal deficit into a 6 goal lead by the end of the quarter.
End of Q3 Score – 41 – 47 Pulse
Q4 changes – No Team Changes
Pulse took the foot of the accelerator slightly in the final quarter, which allowed Team Bath to win it 12 – 10. However, Pulse held on to win an extremely exciting and closely contested game, and as a result remain unbeaten.
Final Score – Team Bath 53 London Pulse 57
Opponents Player of the Match – Sophia – working tirelessly in the mid court and provided an excellent link between defence and attack.
Coaches Players of the Match – Sasha and Izzi – for quality defensive work, which at times frustrated a top class Team Bath attack.
Thank you Team Bath for an extremely competitive and high class match, and for being fantastic hosts, also to the umpires and officials who once again did a great job . Finally we would like to thank all the supporters, who added to the atmosphere, and gave us a real lift when it was much needed.
Still improvements to be made but it was very pleasing to see how the girls stood up when under immense pressure mid way through the game – hopefully see you at our next game where we continue this seasons’ journey against Surrey Storm at the Copperbox on Saturday March 4th – where once again we put our unbeaten record on the line.
U21 NPL Match Report by Isla: Team Bath 59 London Pulse 45
Starting line-up:
GS: Freya Henshall
GA: Berri Neil
WA: Jada Autumn
C: Ellie Chambers
WD: Isla May
GD: Jade Popoola
GK: Darcie Everitt
Bench: Courtney Ferns, Matilda Smyth, Bethany Long, Indi Olunloyo and Jess Symonds
Last Saturday London Pulse’s U21 travelled to the University of Bath for a tough match up against Team Bath’s side. Team Bath sat in a similar position in the table to London Pulse, with 2 wins and 1 loss. Due to this, a tough match was expected from both sides.
London Pulse didn’t get the strong start that they wanted, with Bath gaining an advantage before Pulse countered. However, the girls worked hard to turn ball over and to look after the ball through to goal; with impressive shooting from both Freya and Berri to bring Pulse back in the game, Pulse trailed by just 2 goals finishing 13-15 to Bath.
No changes were made for quarter 2.
Ball continued to go back and forth between teams with both sides making key turnovers. Team Bath put on a strong defensive pressure through court making it difficult for Pulse’s attack. At the end of the quarter Team Bath had grown their lead to 7 goals, leaving the score at 30-23 at half time.
Half time changes:
GS: Berri
GA: Freya
WA: Courtney
C: Ellie
WD: Jade
GD: Darcie
GK: Isla
Pulse came out gunning in the 3rd quarter with several early turnovers. Pulse showcased their successful attacking structures with Berri offering a consistent option at GS and Ellie and Courtney working tirelessly to provide through court options from defence into attack. Matilda took to the court part way through the 3rd quarter in WA and Courtney moved into the C position. Unfortunately, Bath continued to increase the goal margin, with the quarter ending 44-33.
Quarter 4 changes: Jada to C, Courtney to WA, Berri to GA and Freya to GS.
Team Bath continued to apply strong defensive pressure through court limiting Pulse’s options. Pulse continued to push through the quarter with substitutions for Indi into WA and Jess into GS and Freya into GA. However, Bath stayed strong for the quarter coming away with the win.
After a tough fight from both teams the final score was 45-59 to Team Bath. Player of the match was awarded to Isla May.
Overall, Pulse showed fight and structure throughout, but Team Bath managed to apply enough pressure to pull through with the win. London Pulse will next play Manchester Thunder on the 25th of February.
On behalf of London Pulse, we say thank you to the opposition, umpires, officials and supporters!