U15A v Rugby

Date: Tuesday 2^nd March

Venue:

Get changed at break. You will need to order a packed lunch. Please be ready to leave the Arch at 12.45pm i.e. excuse yourselves politely from the last 10 minutes of lesson 5
Kit: Blue skirt and shirt + white socks. No hoodies! Remember to remove jewellery and to bring water bottles. Match start time is 2.30pm. Estimated time of return: 5.45pm

Team:

C Chadwick
K Benn
L Phillips
P Sanders
H Marsay
C Graham
E Sharples
N Ashurova

Result: Lost 27-32

Match Report:

This was an extremely exciting match and despite eventually losing, the girls battled relentlessly right until the final whistle. Unfortunately, (and in keeping with past habits), Repton did not make the strongest of starts. The first quarter was characterised by some very fluid movement from Rugby, whilst Repton passed the ball away on too many occasions and were clearly panicked by the opposition’s dominance at either end of the court. The second quarter started at 11-3 in Rugby’s favour, giving Repton an enormous amount of work to do. Pip Sanders and Lauren Phillips settled down more within the circle and by taking their time over their shooting, managed to match the Rugby shooters goal for goal. Kate Benn and Heather Marsay also started to have more success at the other end of the court, forcing the GS and GA to shoot from further away as a result of some careful blocking. Centre passes were still not functioning as well as we would have hoped, with too many players looking for the ball and causing congestion around the centre circle. However, by slowing the game down, Repton ensured that Rugby’s lead was restricted to 8 goals.

The momentum switched quite dramatically during the third quarter. Repton’s shooters of Ellie Sharples and Lauren Phillips found more space beneath the post and as the Repton goals mounted, the pressure got to the Rugby side in much the same way that it had Repton earlier on in the match. Charlotte Graham continued to cause problems for the opposition all over the court and pressure in defence by Nodira Ashurova resulted in the Rugby side giving away a number of balls through uncontrolled play. Repton caught up to 20-21 by the third quarter, leaving everything to play for in the final 12 minutes. For the first few minutes, Repton stayed in touch with Rugby, with Caitlin Chadwick having to fight for every ball and having a real battle with a talented Rugby WD. Eventually, Rugby regained their composure and deserve all credit for this as they then stretched away to a five goal lead. Their defending during this last quarter was exceptionally effective, preventing the Repton shooters from getting close to the post so that only the most accurate of shots was making it in.

Repton should be pleased with their performance; they did not give up after their slow start but worked hard to put the opposition under real pressure. Avoiding giving our opposition such a lead is something that we still need to work on looking ahead to future matches. NJC