On Tuesday 23rd Jan our Senior Netball Team faced off against Lagan college ( whom they previously met in the Shield before Christmas) in their League match. This was played at Lisburn Racquets Club, a very popular venue, with about 10 matches in total being played there today alone.
Our girls were nervous yet excited, as today, they would face Lagan College for the second time but this time, with our strongest team. It should be noted that the team hasn’t had a match since their last meeting and Christmas, Mocks and Formals have intervened with full training possibilities!
Despite all this, from the first whistle, it was clear that this was going to be a very well contested match. The ERGS team were on fine form. It took quite some time for the Lagan girls to break our strong defensive tactics, to the extent that by the end of the first quarter, Lagan were only ahead by 4 points. The match continued in a very balanced way with the 2nd quarter having three goals scored apiece, leaving Lagan still ahead by 7-3. The remaining half saw the Lagan girls step up their game a notch to edge away from our team. I have to say though that the score (21-6) most definitely does not reflect the determination and teamwork that was on display by the ERGS girls today. This team has so much heart, evident from the start to the finish, as there was nothing but an undeniable desire to do the best they possibly could. They fought right to the final whistle, and I couldn’t have been more proud. Unfortunately, the Seniors now bow out of the League but still have prospects in the Bowl.
Alongside the seniors today were our Minor girls. This team has been playing very well over the last few months and it has been a delight to see them progress and improve in their skills. The girls were keen to get stuck into the match and indeed it seemed that the two side were quite evenly matched. Both teams were so excited that they both kind of forgot how to create space on the court. In their eagerness to get the ball into the shooting circles, silly errors were made by them both. The calls of contact and footwork were echoing around the hall. It wasn’t long however until both teams settled and play became a little smoother. The first ¼ was at 2-2 until close to the end when 2 quick goals were scored to make it 4-2 Wallace. In the 2nd ¼ after a pep talk, the girls performed better. The scoreline read 6-3 to Wallace, but the fluidity was back in their play. Strong defence by Lagan kept the scoring chances down. The third quarter was strong with ERGS scoring the only goal. 6-4 to Wallace. There was still time to turn it in our favour, if only the girls could get their scoring mojo back and beat the Wallace defence. Sadly however, this was not to be. Wallace kept up the pressure feeling the win to be in their grasp and pushing their hardest to get it. Final score 9-4 to Wallace.
Some hard lessons to be learned, but much good also to be taken from their performance today. The Team is out of the League but is still in the Shield competition. The girls will face Strangford in the next round of this in the very near future.
We wish both these teams – Lagan college and Wallace luck as they progress further into the League competition.
