Happy First Home Match

19th December 2009
Won 45 - 34

The Game between Mavericks Youth and Celtic Dragons was going to be a tough one but Mavericks went out full of confidence from their win at Sheffield and wanted to put on a good show for the home crowd.

The game started off fast and furious, this resulted in Mavericks making some early unforced errors which resulted in them going 3-1 down. As Celtic Dragons settled into their play Mavericks started to panic and lose discipline, heads could have easily started to go down but through determination things gradually started to turn and at one stage they managed to draw level. Unfortunately Celtic Dragon pulled away again and at the end of this quarter the score was; Mavericks – 6 Celtic Dragons -10

The second quarter saw a centre court change, with Shana, Mikki and Jade taking the court, this combination was determined to pull back the deficit and the team took on a whole new look. Mavericks looked more relaxed, playing the simple ball and by doing this reaped the rewards. The tables had turned and it was the Dragons making the mistakes and were beginning to get flustered with the tight man to man marking. With several centre passes lost to Mavs defence this resulted in Mavericks scoring and impressive 11 goals in a row. At half time Mavericks had gone ahead by 7 goals making the score: Mavericks – 23 Celtic Dragons - 16

There were no changes to the line up in the third quarter as Mavericks had now got into there stride and were hoping that the break hadn’t made them lose concentration. Communication and the flow was still there and quarter started off as the last one had ended, Mavericks had there heads up and were dominating the game. Celtic Dragons on the other hand was not going to let this go without a fight and things started to get more aggressive. With a dogged determination the Dragons started to claw their way back into the game. Mavericks remained strong and composed, still producing some good netball despite the pressure being applied by the Dragons. The girls stayed ahead but losing the quarter 13-8. The score at the end of the third quarter was; Mavericks – 31 Celtic Dragons - 29

The last quarter required a final change of players and for Mavericks to dig deep and pull on all their resources to stop the Dragons come back. Both teams started this final stage not giving an inch and it remained as intense and exciting as ever. Mavericks capitalising on every mistake made by the Dragons, eventually broke the deadlock and managed to pull away and at the end of the quarter with an 11 goal lead. As the whistle went for full time Mavericks celebrated as they notched up their second win of the season and remain undefeated. Congratulations to both Players and the Coaching Staff. The final score was; Mavericks – 45 Celtic Dragons- 34

Report by Georgia Webber