Omega Netball Club News

The 1st game of 2018 for Omega 2 and the team were anxious.  They were uneasy about how they were going to perform having had several games cancelled by leagues for unforeseen circumstances in November and December, resulting in the team’s last game of 2017 being 13th November…..so the team had had an extended Christmas break!

The starting squad was  GS – Sophie Humphry; GA – Emma Faulkner; WA – Leanne Mansfield; C – Lisa Short; WD – Molly Brett; GD – Andrea Kinninmonth; GK and captain – Louise Cousins, with Hannah Brown starting on the bench due to having broken her finger at training earlier this week.

A scrappy start to the game with both teams wanting to take home the win.   The game was neck and neck for much of the 1st quarter, with many simple errors being made across the court and neither team taking a head start off the block.  The Christmas festivities have definitely taken their toll and the whole Omega team struggle to settle into the game, but they begin to capitalise on some errors made by Asco, giving them a lead of 4 goals at the end of the opening quarter, with a score of 12-8.

A reminder of Club playing principles from the Coach in the break and the team know they have to take control if they want to start the year off as they mean to go on.    Both teams take the court and play begins, but the frantic play continues!  The younger opposition strive to keep the win in sight and come out meaning business, but somehow, Omega continue to increase their lead by a further 2 goals by half time, ending the 1st half 25-19.

During the break, once again the Coach attempts to instil the key elements back into our play.    This quarter, it appears the team have listened and begin to play their game.  They are much more settled and manage to maintain control of the game with great linking of the balls by the attacking players, who manage to find the shooters who are consistent with converting the shots.  The defence are tighter and win many more balls from the opposition, allowing the whole team to work together as they did pre the lengthy down period in November and December, which results in a comfortable 18 goal lead going into the final quarter.

The final quarter and Omega return to court, with Hannah taking the GS position, Emma moving to C and Lisa taking the bench.  The team appear comfortable with the lead created in the 3rd quarter and continue a steady game.  Hannah is found easily in the circle and doesn’t let the team down with more spot on shooting, supported well by her attacking team mates both in and at the edge of the circle.  The defence continue to win more of the ball from the opposition and the improved play across the whole court ends the second half with a spectacular goal difference of 27 goals and a final score of 62-35.

Slow off the blocks, but as the Omega team settled into their game, they worked well together as a squad to bring home a fantastic first win for 2018!  Hopefully the rust has been shaken off and we’re back in our stride!

Starting Team – GS – Hannah Brown, GA – Emma Faulkner, WA – Lisa Short, C – Molly Brett, WD – Claire Statham, GD – Queenie Pearce, GK – Louise Cousins.

After a frantic week for Omega’s captain Louise, trying to complete a squad, we were ready to take on Buntingford.  As always Omega started with apprehension as some players were not in their usual positions to begin with. There was some great play from the attacking end with some accurate passes into the circle to GS Hannah by C, Molly and before we knew it, Omega were pushing ahead. Tight marking in the circle by both GK, Louise and GD, Queenie created Buntingford to wobble a bit and reduced their shooting accuracy. Omega’s defence grabbed some great rebounds, resulting in the ball being brought down the court quickly, but sometimes too quickly, causing passing mistakes into the circle. Often with GS, Hannah double marked, GA Emma would command the majority of the circle. By the end of first quarter, Omega were 6 goals ahead, with a score of 16-10 in Omega’s favour.

During the break, Buntingford made some tactical changes that took Omega by surprise and they scored 3 straight goals. Omega’s centre pass was marked well, making it a bit frantic. Passes into the circle were again, panicked and were often intercepted by a strong Buntingford circle defence. This quarter saw some great interceptions by C, Molly and WD, Claire. This helped keep Omega 3 ahead for a while, but unfortunately this wasn’t enough to keep the 6 goal lead, ending the 1st half of the game with Buntingford taking the lead of 1 goal and a score of 28-27.

In an attempt at regaining the lead, Omega made a change in the defence, changing Claire into the circle at GD and Queenie picking up the WD position.   The Omega team knew they had some work to do to hold on to the game.   However the pressure and adrenaline proved too much, with the team making errors with their passing, having not truly grounded before attempting the pass, compounded by some missed attempts at goal.  Buntingford were quick to capitalise on the Omega teams errors increasing their lead to 6 goals in the 3rd quarter and a score going into the final quarter of 40-34 to Buntingford, but Omega were not ready to concede the game.

A change to the mid court for the final quarter, swapping WA, Lisa into C and Molly from C to WA.  With fresh legs in the key linking position, Omega knew this was the final chance at taking the game.  Some superb feeding from all attacking players into GS, Hannah started the quarter well with Omega fighting to stay in the game.  Tight defence by both GD Claire and GK Louise saw several interceptions and rebounds being won, allowing further attempts to bring the ball to goal, but Buntingford were determined to maintain their lead, forcing errors on Omega with passing the ball and winning interceptions to return ball ownership consistently.  Determination from the whole Omega team resulted in them winning the final quarter, reducing the Buntingford lead to 4 goals by final whistle, allowing them to gain the needed 2 points for the table.  Final score was 49-45.   A tense and tight game throughout with determined play seen from both teams, with Buntingford having the edge with disciplined play, that won them the game.

With a depleted team, against our Bogie team, Omega were expecting a tough game and Hornets did not disappoint.  The starting squad was GS – Hannah Brown; GA – Sophie Humphry; WA – Leanne Mansfield; C – Claire Statham; WD – Queenie Pearce; GD – Chloe D’Arcy and GK – Andrea Kinninmonth.

The game started with Omega loosing the first centre pass as the tension was ever present.    Omega took time to settle, the coach commenting on them playing like the ‘Stansted Express’ and needing to calm it down to allow those helping out and those out of position, to gel.  The first quarter was neck and neck throughout with both teams giving it their all in true competitive spirit, both determined to take home the win, with an even score of 11 all to end the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Omega looked more together, taking better control of the ball.  Omega capitalised on some errors forced on their opponents, allowing them to take a slight lead in the quarter, but that was short lived as Hornets were not ready to concede the game, ending the first half of the game on a draw of 25-25.

Half way through and Omega needed to keep control on their play.  An injury with a knock to the face in the circle, saw Omega’s GS calling time and leaving the court.  A swift change of positioning, moving Chloe in to shoot and Queenie from WD to GD and the game was back underway.  A few of minutes of play and Hannah returned to the court, picking up the vacant WD position.  The new positioning suited the pulled together squad and Omega started to take and hold onto a 5-goal lead by the end of the 3rd quarter.

A team chat in the final quarter break and a decision made to keep status quo on what by now was a winning team.  Omega returned to court knowing that if they maintained control and converted their centre passes, the game was theirs.  A couple of simple errors made in linking the passes, but Omega fought back to regain control and play tactically, as discussed with their coach.  A nail-biting game throughout, with a game that could have gone either way for most of it, but the determination of the Omega team paid off, resulting in them holding on to their lead and taking home the win they fought hard to achieve.  The final score being 45-37.

A big thank you to Chloe D’Arcy and Queenie Pearce for helping out today.  You were both awesome!

We arrived at the game, knowing it would be a tough match, having never beaten Bishops Stortford before, however, determination and grit throughout the court play, resulted in Omega winning the game!

The shooting from GS, Hannah Brown and GA, Sophie Humphry was on point for the entire game,  with Hannah holding some glorious positioning and Sophie supporting mid-court throughout.  The team gelled and were creative with their passing.  Their confidence to work the ball around, paid off.

Starting at C for the first half of the game, Lisa Short constantly supported mid-court play and fed some great balls into the circle.  The dodging from WA, Leanne Mansfield was phenominal, performing triple and quadruple dodges, making the WD fall behind her at every point, allowing no way for the ball to be intercepted.  She threw some superb loop balls into GS, Hannah and adapted her feed, performing some ‘spot on target’ short passes too.  A tactical switch by the Coach, allowed fresh legs mid-court, with Molly Brett taking the C position and Lisa Short moving to WD.  The change of dynamics resulted in tighter defending mid-court and superb feeding with new links into the circle from Molly Brett.

Defence was on point today!  Chloe D’Arcy filled in at GD, playing out of position and out of her comfort zone, resulting in her being unsure at the start of the game, but changing her mind and looking like she was in her natural position once she got into the flow of the game.  She perfected her lean on marking the shot, resulting in the shooters holding onto the ball too long, gaining the advantage for Omega.   Both  GK, Louise Cousins and GD, Chloe D’Arcy marked the oppositions strong GS, but Chloe also read the feeds into the GA at times, ensuring some great interceptions throughout the game.

GK, Louise had the toughest of players as the GS was very tall and a consistent shooter, but her determination and marking led to the GS missing quite a few shots in the last half, which really gave Omega the boost to win the game.

It was close throughout, with Omega only ever being at most 8 infront, but we remained calm, passed it around and controlled the game to make the final score.