Regional Squad
Sarah Taylor (C)
Debbie Street
Vicky Smith

Ellie McNab (VC)
Jenny Simcox
Charlotte Garbutt

Ashley Dodds
Hannah Kirk Wilson  

                        

      

Match Reports

4th Feb - Vs Grasshopers

Leamington 79 - Grasshoppers 19
 
A 60 goal difference at the end of 60 minutes play saw Leamington's regional squad secure their most comprehensive victory of the season so far. Leamington came out of the blocks flying, turning over the first centre and rampaging their way through the first quarter to take a 25 - 3 lead. Jackie Bradley slotted in seamlessly at WA, partnering  C Jenny Simcox who's new trainers were clearly working! A notable height difference between GS Sarah Taylor and the Grasshopper GK made the feed into the circle straightforward where accurate shooting helped open a decisive lead. Player of the Match Ashley Dodds returned to the court this week with her 'sticky fingers' and flying interceptions to team up with Charlotte Garbutt, Ellie McNab and Vicky Smith to shut down the Grasshopper attack and make scoring opportunities few and far between. Leamington's second quarter was the lowest scoring of the game with 15 goals to Grasshopper's 5, but Leamington quickly found their stride again in the third quarter only conceding 2 goals in part due to excellent marking and rebounding by Charlotte. Vicky Smith once agin demonstrated what a key asset she is by playing the WA out of the game whilst Jenny Simcox used her experience to great advantage drilling the ball around the circle edge to create acres of space. Four final quarter changes brought Ellie McNab back to her first choice position at WA with Jackie Bradley and Debbie Street showing that playing with two moving shooters proved just as problemmatic for the Grasshopper defence. Leamington finished the game just 1 goal short of a massive 80 goal total with an equally impressive sub 20 finish by the defence. This further cements their position at the top of the table and edges them closer to promotion to Divison 1 after only their first season.
 

14th Jan - Vs Yendys 

Leamington's Regional squad took the court this week after the Christmas break with quiet determination to maintain their status as division leaders. Leamington are focussed on securing promotion to Divison 1 next season and whilst it is certainly within the squad's capabilities, Leamington knew they would have to put in a focussed performance against mid-table Yendys to avoid any early January upsets. Leamington were concentrating on tight marking all down the court , getting their hands over every ball and working the ball round the attacking circle to find the openings into Debbie Street and Sarah Taylor. By sticking to this plan Leamington dominated the game! Showing no signs of post Christmas fatigue, Ellie McNab at WA had a great game with superb work in the attacking third, linking up brilliantly with Jenny Simcox and Debbie Street to frustrate the Yendys defence. Accurate and consistent shooting from Leamington helped generate a 10 goal lead that was gradually extended throughout the game. The second quarter saw Ashley Dodds join the growing list of ankle injuries within the team, but Charlotte Garbutt stepped in and maintained the pressure at GD. Once again, Leamington's formidable defensive unit of Hannah Kirk Wilson, Ashley Dodds, Charlotte Garbutt and Vicky Smith cut down so many first-time options into the shooting circle that the Yendys attack were consistently forced to put in extra passes as Leamington worked hard to delay them moving the ball forwards. A  final quarter change in positions saw Vicky Smith move to GA, Debbie Street across to WA and Ellie McNab to WD. This new combination took a while to settle, allowing Yendys a short run of play but Leamington quickly regained their composure and closed out the game 60-44 victors. 

 

Sat 12th Nov: Leamington 51 - Willenhall Wanderers 36
 
Leamington Netball's regional squad took on mid-table Willenhall Wanderers in an early 9am fixture this week. With 100% availability and a strong bench, coach Debbie Hone was able to field a formidable team. It was immediately obvious in the opening minutes of the game that this was by no means going to be an easy match as Willenhall's GK, GA and C were quality players that were determined to give table toppers Leamington a run for their money. Sarah Taylor at GS came up against the toughest GK of the competition so far and at times found it difficult to hold her space but by the end of the opening quarter Leamington had a marginal two goal lead. An early tactical change in the second quarter saw Willenhall move their accurate GA into GS which undoubtedly favoured Leamington, as Hannah Kirk Wilson was able to pile on the pressure, whilst Charlotte Garbutt was tight on the GA holding her up outside the circle and preventing driving runs to the post.
 
Vicky Smith came on for Ashley Dodds at half time whilst Paula Williams replaced Hannah in the circle. Willenhall visibly buckled under the pressure of a tight defence and fresh legs which resulted in more missed shots which the Leamington defence rebounded superbly and safely dispatched out to the attack. Patience was the order of the day for Leamington's attacking trio of Ellie McNab, Jenny Simcox and Debbie Street who all worked the ball round brilliantly to find the openings into Sarah Taylor. Debbie Street had a strong game at GA, demonstrating great ball skills under pressure from a solid GD and Jenny Simcox showed great fitness at C to counter the work of her nippy opponent. The attack also worked really hard to defend every throw in and free pass which resulted in tips and clean interceptions that were converted and helped slowly extend Leamington's lead. Player of the Match Ellie McNab never fails to impress with her exceptional work rate and this undoubtedly helped drive Leamington to a 15 goal lead with the final quarter to play. Ashley Dodds returned to court at GD for the last period with Charlotte moving across to WD and Vicky in at C. Errors crept into Leamington's game at the beginning of the last quarter and Willenhall immediately pulled back 5 goals with no reply. Once again Leamington settled into the new combination and pulled back the deficit to maintain a 15 goal advantage at full time. Whilst the players were all confident of the end result the final scoreline did not accurately reflect the intensity of the game.

 

Sat 5th Nov v Recycles: Leamington win 52-34

Leamington reinforced their position as the team to beat when they took to the court this week to face Recycles. Following a two week break in games, both teams were slow to get going in a low scoring opening quarter. However, Leamington quickly gathered  momentum and despite tight defence from the Recycles GD, the court began to open up and Leamington were able to pick up their pace and play more effective attacking netball. With Ashley Dodds unavailable through injury, Vicky Smith slotted in at WD to support Charlotte Garbutt and Hannah Kirk Wilson in defence. Hannah and Charlotte's height in the circle easily picked off balls into the Recycles GS  forcing their attack to work the ball around the circle edge to find any openings.
 
Four half time changes saw Debbie Street move to WA, Ellie McNab to GD, Vicky Smith to GA and substitute Sally Pearce take to the court at WD. The strength and versatility of Leamington's players proved a real asset with  a perfect interception on the first ball of the third quarter by Ellie McNab in unfamiliar defensive territory at GD. Debbie Street and Jenny Simcox teamed up in attack to further frustrate the Recycles defence who had little left in the bank. From then on, Leamington powered their way through the game with Sally Pearce's characteristic determination forcing endless turnovers which player of the match Vicky Smith and Sarah Taylor converted to extend Leamington's lead.  The game ended with a confident 52-34 victory to Leamington. 

 

Sat 15th October v Bournville: Leamington win 45-30

This week's fixture saw table-topping Leamington secure a comfortable 15 goal victory over Bournville.  Leamington were dominant throughout the court, with a confident opening quarter that resulted in a 20-7 goal lead. Hannah Kirk Wilson made an emphatic return to the court  following injury,  teaming up with Charlotte Garbutt and Ashley Dodds to repeatedly close down the Bournville attack.  Ashley, who was recently successful at trials for Loughborough Lightning's junior talent league squad, worked tirelessly to prevent the WA driving onto the circle edge and took several key interceptions. Leamington struggled to maintain their momentum in the second quarter and only managed to extend their lead by a further 2 goals. However, the half time talk from Debbie Hone and Gary Holden helped Leamington re-focus, resulting in more dominant and decisive delivery of the ball into their shooters. Ellie McNab provided another first class performance at WA, showing great strength and fitness to outplay a physical WD, whilst Vicky Smith demonstrated her versatility in confidently returning to GA having played the previous two games in defence. At times Leamington made hard work for themselves but persistence in the final quarter allowed them to cement their position at the top of the table with a 45-30 victory  and move forward confidently into their clash with second-placed Recycles after the half-term break.

 

Sat 1st Oct - Vs BAI, Final Score 42-41 (BAI)

This week's lunchtime clash against a young and physical BAI side, resulted in an agonising 1 goal defeat forLeamington's Regional Squad. The opening quarter saw some eratic and rather unsettled play from both teams with a low score line indicative of numerous unforced errors. With Hannah Kirk Wilson still injured, Leamington were dealt another blow as captain Sarah Taylor, sustained an ankle injury in the dying moments of the quarter leaving her benched for the rest of the game. Fortunately, Jackie Bradley was available to provide shooting cover and converted an important penalty pass or shot to close out the opening period.

BAI seized their opportunity in the second quarter to testLeamington's new attacking line up and coupled with some accurate BAI shooting,Leamingtonsoon found themselves facing a 7 goal deficit. Every credit must be given toLeamington's work ethic and determination as the third quarter saw a change in tide as Debbie Hone's team began to break down BAI's attacking runs and capitalise on every turnover. Charlotte Garbutt, Ashley Dodds and Vicky Smith read the game well and took several vital tips and interceptions in defence that allowed player of the match Ellie McNab to team up with Jenny Simcox at C to drive the ball intoLeamington's shooting circle.Debbie Streetand Jackie Bradley, stood up well to a tall, physical defence and found their range to finish the third quarter two goals ahead. From then on, the game could have gone either way with some exciting end-to-end play. Both teams would manage to open up a slight advantage only to be reeled back in by the opposition. Unfortunately the run of play did not fall inLeamington's favour as BAI nudged ahead in the dying moments to finish the game 42 - 41.

Sat 24th Sept - Vs Yendys, Final Score 54-48 (leam)

Leamingtons regional squad took on Yendys on saturday morning. The match started with a clear lead from Leamington-8-1 up in the first 5 minutes mostly down to the outstanding performance of GK, Hannah Kirk-Wilson. The girls were extremely focused and caught Yendys off guard, however, disaster struck when Hannah went over on her ankle and had to be taken off. Vicky Smith came on at WD and the girls moved positions to cover for Hannah, this led to a settling down period during which Yendys capitalised on the disruption and came back to 8 all. Leamington managed to finish the first quarter 1 goal in the lead. The girls continued to settle and re establish themselves, lovely mid court play by Jenny Simcox and Ellie Mc Nab combined with great shooting from Debbie Street and Sarah Taylor kept the girls edging in front to finally secure a 54-48 win. Coach, Debbie Hone said " the girls reacted to the situation well, regrouped and showed their versatility and discipline in this game, I am delighted with the win and look forward to next weeks match against BAI".

Sat 17th Sept - Vs Lindon Centre, Final Score 51-41 (leam)

Leamington's newly promoted Regional squad took to the court at Walsall on Saturday for their first match of the season against Lindon Centre. The first quarter saw a few nerves fromLeamingtonand the strong Lindon defense made it hard work for us to settle into a rythmn.Leamingtonfinished that quarter 2 goals down. They steadied in the second half making a few changes to their team to try and counteract Lindon,Debbie Streetcame on at WA and Ellie McNab moved to a defending role in WD. This quarter saw Leamington inch ahead by 3 goals.For the 3rd and final quarter,  Coach, Debbie Hone swopped Debbie Street into GA and moved Vicky Smith to WD. this move, combined with the steady shooting from Captain, Sarah Taylor and great interceptions from GK, Hannah Kirk-Wilson, gave Leamington the egde over Lindon , finishing the match with a well deserved win  51-41.