Classy Loughborough outwit Leeds

Women's Netball

By Simon Sandison

The Gryphon’s difficult return to the BUCS Premier North continued last Wednesday as they endured a comprehensive defeat at the hands of league leaders Loughborough.

The team will hope to improve if they are to make any impact on next year’s championship round. Relegation now looms, but a victory away to bottom of the table Edinburgh next week should be enough to avoid this eventuality. Frustratingly Heyes, moved to Goal Attack for the second half, persistently took on the almost impossible pass rather than shooting herself. If Leeds are to improve, they need to be less reliant upon South for points. She was resilient throughout, but as the match proceeded she was faced with two markers. Despite t

hese moments of hope, Loughborough were unforgiving, and refused to let Leeds back into the game. Leeds opened the fourth quarter with similar strength, and South displayed her class with three points in two minutes from increasingly difficult positions, the last of which was from the very edge of the shooting area. In position for a return ball, her high pass sailed over the heads of the defence for South to score. Her impact seemed instant. Only a minute into the third quarter she orchestrated a move that saw her make a short pass at the halfway line, before and sprinting diagonally across the court to the left of the scoring D. Katie Williams was brought on as Wing Attack and her energy and hunger for the ball gave the Gryphons a spark that they had lacked before. Despite trailing 36-9 at the half time break, Leeds did appear willing to make changes in order to avoid embarrassment. Opportunities, however, were extremely limited, particularly in the first half of the match, and she spent periods in isolation. Charlotte South, playing at Goal Shooter for the majority of the game, was undoubtedly the Gryphon’s most reliable player. Passing was consistently uncertain throughout the team, and although there were some glimmers of incisive play by Heyes and Carly Hobdam, the Gryphons were continually unable to move the ball into scoring positions. Emma Heyes, playing at Centre in the first quarter, continually squandered her opening pass, failing to find a teammate on her first three centres. More worrying than the evident gap in quality between the sides was the appearance from the outset that the Gryphons didn’t believe an upset was possible.The transition to the top division following promotion last season has been tough, and Leeds still have some way to go if they are to truly compete at this level.