After York had beaten Leeds Met 4ths 41-20 last week, their morale had been boosted. However, the impressive battle against Leeds had resulted in Kay Masterson and Lottie Knight picking up injuries, which meant that York had only a straight seven against Tee side. York’s seven players could not overcome the eleven Tee side players they were met with and Tee side beat York 41-19.
Before the match started, York’s captain spoke to Teesside’s umpires about past treatment of York sides away at Teesside. This seemed to work to York’s advantage, as the contact by Teesside which York 2nds and 3rds had been met with was absent in the first half.
York struggled in the first quarter to feed the balls into their shooters due to an athletic Goal Defence, whose height served her well. However, once York got into their stride Lisa Griffiths and Amy Moye were scoring some outstanding shots for York.
However, down the other end, the Teesside shooters rarely missed a shot. Despite numerous turnovers from Nina Pullman, York could not look after the ball, and it often resulted in a Tee side goal. York were down by ten goals in the first quarter, and they knew they had to fight back.
The second quarter was much like the first, in that York struggled to feed the ball into their attacking D. This was clearly frustrating York, who had begun to show dominance in York’s defensive D. York had never come across such a talented Goal Defence and Kay Masterson’s height and experience was sorely missed.
With York struggling to make a comeback, Charlotte Ferris and Rebecca O’ Dwyer switched roles for the second half. Despite York looking convincing in the first five minutes, with Amy Moye and Lisa Griffiths moving around the circle to create space, York could not narrow the gap between them and their greatest rivals.
In the fourth quarter, Teesside resorted to their old ways and bullied York to a win. Their dangerous play meant that York were potentially going to have another player out with injury before Varsity.
Teesside’s Centre and Wing Defence persistently contacted off the ball, which resulted in Charlotte Ferris and Bronwen Dalley Smith having to run off court and back on again to escape the contact. Tee Side came out with a 41-19 win, which was much deserved due to their first half performance.
York’s Captain, Rebecca O’ Dwyer, commented that her seven players ‘did all they could’ against a Teesside team who currently sit comfortably at the top of the league. York are currently in fourth place, behind a Sheffield team who they drew 50- 50 with.
With York’s next fixture against Sunderland, who are currently only on three points, and Sheffield’s next fixture against a second place Northumbria team, York could fight their way to third place next week.
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