Oldham Netball Club made the long trip to Bath worthwhile on Sunday, coming home with a 59-48 win and all 5 points.
Oldham were depleted due to national commitments for a number of players but did welcome back experienced shooter Krista Enziano after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Oldham started well despite the journey and a strong defensive unit of Emma Dovey, Abby Tyrrell and Kerry Almond pressured the Bath shooters into errors and missed shots, snapping up any rebounds which the away side's centre court quickly gave to the shooters who coolly slotted home for a healthy lead at the break.
Oldham were depleted due to national commitments for a number of players but did welcome back experienced shooter Krista Enziano after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Oldham started well despite the journey and a strong defensive unit of Emma Dovey, Abby Tyrrell and Kerry Almond pressured the Bath shooters into errors and missed shots, snapping up any rebounds which the away side's centre court quickly gave to the shooters who coolly slotted home for a healthy lead at the break.
A few changes at quarter time saw 17 year old Iona Darroch making her premier league debut and the youngster started well, linking well with both attack and defence. Some good feeds into Enziano and good drives from Kathryn Turner allowed Oldham to keep the pressure on the home side and work Darroch into the game.
The third quarter saw Oldham lose some composure and allow Bath to close the gap, but the reigning champions pulled together through some sharp shooting and quality work around the circle edge from Darroch and Maria McAndrew. Oldham managed to open up the gap again to give some breathing room.
Amy Neild entered the court for the final quarter to provide some calmness and McAndrew moved to C to continue her link play with Enziano. Taylor Cullen was working hard at WD to stem the flow of feeds into the Bath shooter which allowed the Oldham defence to pick off some stray feeds into the circle. A time out allowed a quick change of Tyrrell replacing Almond at the back but the game was won.
Coach Hallas said "I was really pleased with our first and fourth quarter, if we could step up our consistency we could put ourselves into much more commanding positions during games. Krista Enziano did very well in her first game back, while Iona Darroch made an impressive debut in the Premier League. We have a great balance of youth and experience and it was Kerry Almond and Maria McAndrew who led by example today, the former with 11 turnovers.”
Team: GS K Enziano GA K Turner WA M McAndrew C T Cullen WD E Dovey GD A Tyrrell GK K Almond. Bench I Darroch A Neild
Oldham play Oaksway of Hartlepool away this Sunday.
The third quarter saw Oldham lose some composure and allow Bath to close the gap, but the reigning champions pulled together through some sharp shooting and quality work around the circle edge from Darroch and Maria McAndrew. Oldham managed to open up the gap again to give some breathing room.
Amy Neild entered the court for the final quarter to provide some calmness and McAndrew moved to C to continue her link play with Enziano. Taylor Cullen was working hard at WD to stem the flow of feeds into the Bath shooter which allowed the Oldham defence to pick off some stray feeds into the circle. A time out allowed a quick change of Tyrrell replacing Almond at the back but the game was won.
Coach Hallas said "I was really pleased with our first and fourth quarter, if we could step up our consistency we could put ourselves into much more commanding positions during games. Krista Enziano did very well in her first game back, while Iona Darroch made an impressive debut in the Premier League. We have a great balance of youth and experience and it was Kerry Almond and Maria McAndrew who led by example today, the former with 11 turnovers.”
Team: GS K Enziano GA K Turner WA M McAndrew C T Cullen WD E Dovey GD A Tyrrell GK K Almond. Bench I Darroch A Neild
Oldham play Oaksway of Hartlepool away this Sunday.