A packed crowd crammed into the Hertfordshire Sports Village to eagerly wait the local derby. Karen Atkinson and Louisa Brownfield who both had played an important part in the Australian test series had trained well the previous night and were ready for this encounter.

A nervous start with several turnovers by both teams and after two minutes Hertfordshire Mavericks scored the first goal. Surrey Storm quickly responded with 3 unanswered goals. Geva Mentor and Sonia Mkoloma, having had an impact in the recent International Test Series were making it very hard for the Hertfordshire Maverick shooters to find the space in the circle; however once the space was found, both Louisa Brownfield and Monique Wood scored successfully. The ball moved through the court furiously but the lack of shooting opportunities by both teams demonstrated the tight defensive play. In the second quarter the defensive quartet of Buchanan, Atkinson, Hutchinson and Newton had learnt from the previous match and with the support of Morgan Smith and Wood on the third line caused the Storms ball to slow up and the shooting opportunities to be reduced. However at the other end Mavericks were also being restricted so at half time Hertfordshire Mavericks were 6 goals adrift. A change was required and although Morgan Smith had found some good circle edge space and had dealt with the strong ball marking of Storms Wing Defence she was switched with Atkinson and Borck moved into the centre role. The second half saw Newton and Hutchinson develop their partnership and there was some strong defensive play limiting the shooters role and Buchanan had was now restricting the space that Tamsin Greenaway; who had played an important role in the recent test series and who had been a dominating player in the previous Storm encounter normally enjoys. Hertfordshire Mavericks had the turnovers throughout the court and with Louisa Brownfield shooting 92% just showed how tight the circle play was and the need to have more opportunities. Mavericks just could not crack the tight backline of “M n M” as they have become known. The whistle blew and the 8 goal loss margin with a low score line by both teams demonstrated the strength of both teams defensive play.

Maggie Jackson was pleased with the team feel of the squad “but to win this competition we have to replicate the 4 th quarters intensity through the whole match and continue to work on the improved attacking play that Hertfordshire Mavericks is starting to show. The match against Northumbria next Friday is going to be tough and we have to ensure that we step up and ensure we continue to improve on tonight’s performance”

Link: CNSL Website report