The second Regional game of the second half of the season and Omega have a home game against Royston, so an intra-Herts contention.
Royston had attained a strong score against MK Netters in their game the weekend prior and with Omega also loosing their midcourt anchor to a serious injury resulting in a new setup for the game, Omega were nervous.
This was evident in Omega’s play in the opening minutes of the 1st quarter as they struggled to take the ball to a shooting opportunity, allowing Royston to take the first 3 goals of the game and an early lead of 6-2 to further exacerbate the nervous tension in Omega’s play. However, Omega were keen to rid the nerves and gain composure in their game and as the quarter progressed, they began to succeed in their quest, limiting the lead to just 3 goals to go into the 2nd quarter, with a score of 11-14 to Royston.
The 2nd quarter started fairly matched goal for goal, but Omega gained their stride and snatched a 4 goal roll early in the quarter, closing the lead to just 1 goal by mid-quarter. The familiarity in the new mid-court and attacking setup was beginning to gel and the confidence in each other proved fruitful. Omega faltered in their play with some basic errors, allowing Royston to take a 3 goal roll and regain their lead once more, but Omega dug deep to keep themselves in the game and ended the 1st
half with a score of 25-26 to Royston.
Omega knew they had to maintain their game play and composure to allow them to gain the win they wanted. The 3rd quarter was a step up in Omega’s performance and as they tightened their defensive play, they forced Royston to error on several occasions, forcing balls off the goal line and held-ball calls consistently. Amazing circle defence resulted in missed shots and Omega snatching the rebounds and capitalising on the wins with superb shooting accuracy from Omega shooters. They managed to limit Royston to scoring just 4 goals this quarter, whilst gaining 15 themselves, resulting in Omega gaining the lead going into the final quarter with a score of 40-30 in their favour.
The final quarter and Omega know the game is not won until the final whistle. They know they have to maintain the possession on their centre passes and covert every goal. They falter on occasion, but in the main they continue to apply the pressure on their opponents. A battle in this quarter to gain the win but the lead proves too much for Royston to grapple at and Omega grow their lead further, ending the game 54-41 to Omega.
A game of 2 halves, with Omega struggling with nerves and the ability to settle into the game 1st half but amazing teamwork and composure in the second half with continuous defensive pressure applied to turn the game. This coupled with fantastic accuracy in the shooting circle and the new setup gaining familiarity in the game, allowed Omega to take the win they came for.
A big thanks to Lucy Hoskin and Andrea Kinninmonth for being ready in kit to take the court if needed, to support the small, depleted squad. And a well done to Megan Woods on her debut game as a squad player, stepping up to take the place as the mid-court anchor and settling into the game and squad well today.
Royston awarded POM to GK, Mary Ogunseitan. Well deserved Mary.