On paper this was always going to be a tough match…this did not deter our girls…
Eagles 29 – 37 Wokingham Red
08 December Wellington College

On paper this was always going to be a tough match.  Wokingham Red were above us in the league and we were going into the match with no subs!  This did not deter our girls though and they went into the match determined to do their best and go for the win.

 Q1 - A great start from Eagles saw them applying pressure to Wokingham and forcing a held ball.  The girls made the most of this to score their first goal.  A second quickly followed despite some wild passing causing Wokingham to turn the ball over but strong defence from Nya and Georgia stopped them scoring and the ball was quickly down the court for Grace to score again.  It was clear from the off that this was going to be a fast paced game, with intercepts galore on both sides.   Every ball was hard fought for and with some strong defence on both sides the score was 7-5 to Eagles at the end of the first quarter.

Q2 - Wokingham came out strong in the second quarter scoring straight away.  It was turning out to be a very physical game and our girls were having to work hard to hold their ground.  A couple of unfortunate calls against us did not help but the girls kept working and their efforts paid off.  A great intercept by Keira led swiftly to Helena and Izzy to pass into the circle where some lovely movement within the circle by Lottie and Grace made space for them to score.   Wokingham were fighting back hard but the girls continued to hold their own and the quarter ended 17-16 to Eagles.

Q3 - With no subs and the game being played at a frantic pace the girls really had to dig deep in the third quarter.   Wokingham had really stepped up their game and some fantastic long passes into the circle were allowing them to build their score.  With our girls under pressure some sloppy passing and poor footwork crept in at times making their challenge even harder and, at times, undoing the good work they had done to turn the ball over.   A little bit of tiredness seemed to creep in and balls were not being passed as fast and as high as they should be allowing Wokingham to take the lead.  At the end of the quarter the score read 21–25 to Wokingham.

Q4 - The last quarter and our girls came out fighting scoring straight from the centre pass.  The girls appeared to have become more accustomed to Wokingham’s dummy throw tactic and were intercepting well.   Fantastic defence in our circle was making it harder for Wokingham to score and forcing them to make errors.   Helena, Izzy and Keira continued to work hard to get the ball down the court for Lottie and Grace to score.    The girls were clearly tired but determined to keep going.  The match ended 29 - 37 to Wokingham and our girls can be really proud of themselves.  They never gave up against some really tough, and at times very physical, opposition.  For most of the match they more than held their own.  Watch out Wokingham next time we meet!

A big thank you to Tina for stepping in and umpiring at the last minute.  Your wonderful coaching and words of wisdom on the sideline throughout the game were much missed.

And a big well done to Georgia for getting Player of the Match.