Leeds Uni 1s v Met 1s – Semi-final: With a huge build up to semi-finals day for Leeds Uni Netball, the 1s knew they had a lot of pressure on them when facing long-time rivals, Leeds Met. Weeks of intense training, fitness and technical sessions had lead to this day, and with old coach Alex Kirk back on the bench, there was a huge buzz in the atmosphere. After a thorough warm up and an attempt to psych-out the opposition, Leeds Uni 1s were ready to take to the court. Both teams knew how much this match meant, hence they both came out with the ultimate fighting spirit. Throughout the first quarter, both teams centres were taken straight to goal. Lauren Potter and Rachael Wilkes were working the circle from the start and put immense pressure on Met’s shooters. Lucinda Swayne made effortless feeds into the circle, giving our shooters the opportunities they needed. The first quarter ended 12-8 to Met and Uni knew they would have to step up their game. Rachael Wilkes moved to WD, putting Amy Rebecca Potter in the circle. The second quarter saw fantastic goals from our shooters, namely Ciara Crosbie getting hard shots in from far away. Although a few goals up on us, Met were pushed to their limits, as our defence were tight-on and persistently made turnovers. Shana Potgieter held the mid court together with strong movements and fantastic ball placement into our attacking third. Unsurprisingly, Natalie Haythornthwaite was there every time to receive the flying feeds and topped it off with graceful shooting. The score at half time was 23-17 to Met and a come-back for Uni was still on the horizon. After one of Alex Kirk’s infamous team talks and a decision to keep the team the same, Uni came back onto court with a renewed determination. Lauren Potter made some incredible interceptions, which followed through and were converted by Natalie Haythornthwaite. Spurred on by the huge crowd overpowering Met’s home advantage, the Uni team performed as a united front. With an intense score of 26-22, and a tactical time called by Met, Uni were slightly thrown at the end of the third quarter. The game became quite aggressive with Shana Potgieter and Natalie Haythornthwaite taken to the floor on many occasions. The crowd became rowdy and unforced errors were made on court, with a score at the end of the quarter of 32-23 to Met. The final quarter of the semi-finals was upon us. The atmosphere was nail biting, the crowd were right behind the Uni team, and there was still a chance for a come back. The starting team were still going strong, showing Uni’s unstoppable fitness. Amy Rebecca Potter and Lauren Potter continued to force long shots for Met’s attack, thus driving tips and turnovers. Worked up-court by Rachael Wilkes and through to the attack, some of our turnovers struggled to reach our attacking D. After an incredible interception, Shana Potgieter took a shocking fall and unfortunately was the last straw for her injury. The crowd cheered as she was carried off court, and with only 5 minutes left of the game we knew Uni had given their all. Olivia Ellis made her debut for the 1s at WA, moving Lucinda Swayne to centre. Swayne continued to play incredibly even though under a huge amount of pressure. Uni fought until the end, though unfortunately lost to Met with a final score of 44-30. Although they came away with a loss, Uni 1s have had an incredible season this year and have truly made the club proud with their incredible play as a united front, well done girls! MOTM: Natalie Haythornthwaite
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 15:33:59 +0000
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