On Friday 2nd December, the Fermanagh Schools Netball Blitz took place at the Castlepark Centre, Lisnaskea.
In all, there were 5 teams – St Fanchea’s, St Comhghall’s, Erne integrated, Enniskillen Royal Grammar and Fivemiletown.
Each match comprised 2 halves of end-to-end netball, and the blitz itself was a round-robin ( i.e. each school played each other).
The first opponent for the ERGS team was Fivemiletown. The first half saw both teams quite jittery and a lot of missed attempts on goal due to nerves. By the second half, the ERGS team had settled as had Fivemiletown! We saw both teams play some lovely netball including excellent passing and beautiful shots on goal. The ERGS girls were the stronger in the second half, winning the game 5-2.
Match number two was against Erne Integrated. This was a different style of game, as our opponents played in a manner that made our girls rethink their tactics. It took a while to get used to that, but once we did, it was all systems go, resulting in a 6-2 victory.
Game number 3 against St. Fanchea’s was to be a tough one. At this point in the Blitz, St. Fanchea’s had already played, and won, three of their matches. If they were to beat us in this match, they would win the whole tournament. The ERGS girls came out strongly, scoring twice in pretty quick succession. This made the girls relax their guard a little, as St. Fanchea’s came right back with two of their own! With this quick wake-up call, the ERGS girls tightened up their marking and made use of every pass they received and fed. Once again, ERGS pulled ahead, leaving St Fanchea’s playing catch-up. Fortunately this is how it stayed until the final whistle and a score line of 5-4 to ERGS.
The last match against St Comhghall’s would seal our fate. Would this be a first or a second position for the ERGS girls? With a strong start from ERGS, the girls made their intentions clear. They were here to win! Some great play from the girls saw the goals go in one after the other. However, St. Comhghall’s didn’t make it easy for us, they fought hard – claiming one of the goals for themselves. In the end though, the score line read 12-1 to the ERGS girls.
This is a fantastic start for the first Netball Tournament under the guise of Enniskillen Royal. Despite the positions shown below, the girls are a very versatile group, and when necessary, were able to switch positions depending on the needs of each match.
The girls have attended normal practices and extra ones in order to ensure their readiness for this tournament. I am delighted for them that all their hard work has paid off. Congratulations to the Year 12 Team!
R.McIntosh
Team
GK – Leah Smyth
GD – Lois Egerton / Mya Binnom
WD – Kirstie Harron
C – Jessica Glenn / Trudie McComb
WA – Rebecca Murray / Rebekah Walmsley
GA – Rebecca Beacom / Sasha Milne
GS- Jade McCaffrey
