Varsity victory for Blues Netball

Oxford 30 – 25 CambridgeFirst to take their positions on court, Oxford’s Blues netballers dominated from the very first minute of this game. Going from strength to strength as the game progressed, they were confident in each area of the court and showed dogged determination to pull off a convincing and well-deserved Varsity win. When the Cambridge shooter missed a chance after her team had taken the first centre, the home team pounced on an early opportunity to disrupt their opposition. After a few minutes of nervous play from both sides, a terrific interception by Katelin Fuller in the middle of the court set a standard of play that would be maintained until the final whistle. GD Zillah Anderson soon followed suit, pulling off a similarly impressive interception at the back of the court which set the centre court players in motion. Before the Light Blues had a chance to take stock, the ball had flown down the court into the capable hands of the Oxford shooters and the home crowd erupted to cheer the first goal. With the first quarter under way the two teams were fighting hard, but it was Oxford who slowly edged in front. As initial nerves began to settle, Cambridge failed to stamp out careless errors, under constant pressure from the confident Iffley girls. Unable to keep up with the pace of the game, they overthrew the ball which resulted in an Oxford throw-in on more than a few occasions. Holly Woolven did well to keep the Dark Blues settled and fluid in centre court. Coming back on court for the second quarter, the score was 11-6 to the Dark Blues, who again asserted their presence from the whistle – tireless marking in the goal circles saw inspiring interceptions at either end from seasoned Blues Alice Kelly (GK) and Venetia Barrett (GS). It took Cambridge over two and a half minutes to score after taking the first centre pass, and they only managed to slot one more in the net before half time. Oxford, on the other hand, worked the ball up the court with ease, and some fantastic overhead passing to the shooters came up trumps. At half time the Blues had a comfortable lead of 17-8. With renewed vigour, the visitors came out on court in the second half of the match with the finishing ability they had lacked at the start and, having rearranged their shooters, they started to gain on the Dark Blues’ lead. Oxford continued to make interceptions, but a temporary slip in concentration saw some rushed passes, which the Cambridge women capitalised on. However, when the Light Blue GS failed to make a shot just before the whistle, despite having both Oxford’s circle defenders forced to stand by her side, it was clear which team had the winning mentality. Oxford’s early fight had paid off, so despite losing a rather weary third quarter 10-7 they were still in the lead, 24-18. With fifteen minutes to play, the stage was set for a closely fought last quarter. When the visitors deftly slotted two goals in the Dark Blue goal, the lead was narrowed to just 4 goals, and the noise levels of the Iffley crowd rose significantly. GA Lerryn Martin (Player of the Match) shone in this last quarter, helping to bring the ball up into the Oxford circle and pulling off a couple of impressive shots from far out. With 7 minutes to play and 7 goals to pull back, Cambridge’s slim chance of victory was resoundingly denied them, by a display of confident team netball at its best. From determined dodging by the substitute WA Georgina Weetch and WD Leonie Smikle working to move the ball up the court, to jumping for rebounds at both ends of the court, the Oxford women knew exactly what needed to be done. And they did it. The final score of 30-25 topped off an excellent performance from Oxford’s netballers, with the Roos (2nds) winning 41-34 in their match. Unexpected drama at the beginning of this match saw Captain Cat Clark unable to remove an ear piercing and unable to play, so the team that started was composed entirely of Freshers. They coped exceptionally well, however, with Jess Murphy filling the captain’s shoes on court with impressive poise, and Katie Leahy shaping a solid defence. Despite being dangerously close to losing their early lead in the third quarter, the Roos managed to hold their nerve. Thanks to consistent shooting by Player of the Match Rhian Price, they draw ahead in the final quarter to win the match with a convincing seven goal victory. Having had a rather inconsistent season, the Blues went into their match having beaten Cambridge at home but had narrowly lost to them over in the Fens, which put them three points behind their Light Blue rivals in the BUSA league. But, as it has been proven time and again, Varsity is all about being the best team on the day. Whether it was due to meticulous preparation beforehand, unfaultable determination over 60 minutes or pure team spirit, the Oxford squads had it all. Fitter, faster and more agile – they brought all they had, and gave it.by Stephanie Hardwick