Match Report: Netball Varsity

University of Leicester Netball Club score important victories over DMU in two of their four matches, with the 3rd and 1st teams winning.

The development team were the first to play in front of the crowds on DMU turf and De Montfort capitalised instantly scoring the first goal of the match. Despite dominating possession and making numerous interceptions the girls were unable to get into their stride and ended the first quarter down 6-1.

The second quarter saw the introduction of Alina Finch for Leicester and the six foot Goal Shooter was able to lift Team Leicester to new heights. They staged something of a comeback but the shots from DMU kept finding the net.

A second, almost as important, match was developing on the sidelines as the supporters of both teams entered into a good old fashions slagging match. Leicester opted for “whats that coming over the hill, its unemployment” whilst DMU turned to their old favourite “DMU is wonderful”.

Despite the final result, 29-10 in favour of DMU, the effort shown by the development team s not reflected in the score line as they never gave up on the match.

The third team took to the same pitch just a single day after the defeat of the development team and would turn the fortunes of Leicester’s Netball team around. Having been defeated by the team they faced earlier in the season they were determined to assert their dominance.

Right from the first whistle Leicester pulled away from DMU in the first quarter and secured an 8 goal lead, with the score at 9-1. The third team were able to keep this effort up, despite close competition from DMU throughout the match, especially in the third quarter.

Despite the DMU fight back Leicester were able to steal victory by a decent margin of 10 goals. The final score was 28-18, a very well deserved win for the 3rd team.

The Netball 3rd Team

The second team had the hardest challenge of all and their match was by far the closest of all at Netball Varsity 2013. The final few seconds of the first quarter saw DMU shooters pull the score back to 8-8 and from this point onwards the teams were never more than four goals apart.

The crowd played a significant role in this match with tempers running high and one player reportedly developing a black eye after the match. The real tensions came in the third quarter as Ellie Porter, Goal Attack, suffered an injury that forced her to leave the pitch briefly. Fortunately Ellie was able to continue despite the fate of the team being already sealed.

DMU prevailed by seven goals with the final score 37-30. The score my no means reflecting the intensity and closeness of the teams throughout the match.

A slightly less serious photo of the 2nd Team

The first team put in a thoroughly professional performance and secured victory another well deserved victory. Despite the confrontational attitude of the DMU Goal Defence throughout the game Leicester were able to rise above it and put in a huge performance.

A particularly memorable moment came when Jaz, Wing Defence, was forced to jump off the court to avoid a collision with a DMU player and, moments later, sprinted across a full third of the court to intercept a pass.

Every player was a credit to the University and the score of 40-33 in Leicester’s favour was greeted by jubilant celebrations and a few tears from team members who would be leaving at the end of the year. The pitch invasion by the remaining Leicester players highlighting just how much the match meant to everyone in the club.

It was a memorable end to a wonderful few matches.

The Netball 1’s pose after their victory