Weybridge Vandals A 30-50 Surrey
Saturday 28 October
The Surrey team travelled on a chilly but bright morning out to Surrey, for their first away match, to play the Weybridge Vandals on Saturday 28 October.
Hoping to secure another victory to their strong start of the season, the starting line-up consisted of a mix of both well-practiced and new combinations in attack and defence. Gabs Cross made her Surrey debut at GD, stepping up from the Kingston squad – in a strong defensive duo with Annabelle Saggers controlling the D in GK. The first quarter saw a challenging start, with slippery court conditions making drives and dodges difficult to execute with confidence. After being a few goals down for much of the quarter, Surrey settled in and started playing to their own strengths, bringing the score to a nerve wracking 9-9.
After a brief team huddle, the girls were reminded by Keith to play the basics and Surrey reverted back to their normal game. Strong and well-timed attack brought the ball down to GS Tara Ellis, who worked well holding the D and communicating with GA Georgie Pulsford. Consistent and accurate feeds went in from WA Fran Bennett and C Hannah McNally – which combined with the high shooting stats, ensured that the goaline reflected the uplift in play, resulting in a leap forward to 24-15.
The squad remained the same for the third quarter, who continued to build on the strong foundations laid in the 2nd. There was a high conversion of turnovers created by Jude Lewis in WD and full court defence, forcing pressure and causing errors by the Vandals. The opposition were forced to pass around the circle for lengths of time which caused several 3 second umpire calls much to Coach Keith’s delight. The score at the end of Q3 was a convincing 36-22.
Some changes were made going into the 4th Q with Elin Murphy taking the C position, coming back from a recent ankle injury. Alex Addison was then subbed on as WD, both players making an impact from the bench with fresh legs and good decisions on court. The game continued on the upward trajectory, with a goal in the last second – rounding off a great game of netball to a neat 50-30 victory, to Rosslyn Park.