A trip away to second placed Academy was the first real test for reigning Premier League Division One Champions Oldham, the game wasn’t going to be easy with Academy also undefeated. Difficult trips away to Academy in the past meant that Oldham Coach Debbie Hallas was demanding consistency in performance all over the court.
Oldham took an early lead in the first quarter with the attack finding in-form shooters Kathryn Turner and Krista Enziano with ease. Enziano struggled to get her eye in at first but with plenty of opportunities Oldham found themselves leading 8-3 halfway through the first quarter. The defence were working well to force Academy into mistakes and were preventing their attack from forming any rhythm. Oldham were playing some fast-paced netball, true-to-style, but complacency with the final ball meant they didn’t increase their lead and at the end of the quarter and the lead stayed at five, 14-9.
The second quarter saw Hallas introduce Rachel Henry into the attack and Georgie Webster into the defence. Academy started the quarter strongly forcing Oldham's shooters to shoot from further out. No team seem to be able to find their flow and ball seemed to switch possession too easy. Both teams seemed frustrated not to be able to take hold of the quarter and the quarter finished level. At half time Oldham led 25-20.