GRANGERS NETBALL CLUB

Saturday 22nd February 2020 - Grangers 47 - 41 Bears 1

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Grangers showed that they can mix it with physical opponents as they edged out Bears by 47 - 41 in a game where defensive ends for both teams were dominant. In a relatively low scoring affair neither side were able to stamp their authority on the game with the difference in the score never opening up to more than four goals throughout the game except in the last three minutes where Grangers finally broke the Bears resistance. Bears were lying in second place in the division and had previously beaten Grangers by 76-58 earlier in the season. A brilliant display from Poppy (GK) Kerri (GD) and Leah (WD) in defence kept the Bears attack in check, although the Essex team held the advantage throughout most of the game by the odd one or two goals. Grangers attack meanwhile were working hard to lose their markers and had to keep composed throughout the game against a very stubborn and tactically solid defence. Kellise (C) and Harriet’s (WA) patience was put to the test as they tried to find the right ball into Nikki (GS) and Jess (GA), who were constantly getting as battered as a piece of cod on a Saturday night!! With the score tied at 34 apiece after three quarters it was a barn storming finish as every Grangers player went for every interception and turnover. With four minutes remaining Grangers finally hit the front in the game. With momentum in our favour Grangers turned the screw to pull away by six goals for a well deserved hard fought victory. This win puts Grangers into third place four points off top spot with two games remaining. This was our best defensive display of the season (so far!!) Well done ladies you were all fantastic against very tough opponents.

Team :- Nikki, Jess, Harriet, Kellise, Leah, Kerri, Poppy, Beth, Elena

Player of the match :- Harriet, showed patience opening up the Bears defence to find our shooters who were struggling to find space throughout the game.

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Report by Steve Powell

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Saturday 15th February 2020 - MK Netters 50 - 76 Grangers

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Grangers regional division two team were once again in fantastic form defeating MK Netters in an entertaining goal feast on Saturday. Grangers travelled the short journey to Shefford to take on MK Netters knowing that one more win would secure their place in division two for next season. The boot was on the other foot for MK Netters as a defeat would push them nearer to the trap door of relegation into division three. The whole game was played in a competitive but friendly manner which made it a great game to watch. Playing superb netball in the first half Grangers fired in 37 goals to MK Netters 19. With the job only half done Grangers took their eye off the prize as MK Netters came roaring back into the game with 21 goals to Grangers 15. Refocusing for the last fifteen minutes Grangers were soon back in their usual stride scoring an impressive 22 goals to MK Netters 9 to finish off our local rivals. This win puts Grangers back up to fourth place with an outside chance of promotion if we were to win our final three games and other results go our way! Well done ladies a great achievement to be in such a high position at this stage of the season. With the pressure off let's keep the promotion push going 😀
Team :- Nikki, Jess, Harriet, Kellise, Leah, Kerri, Sofija, Poppy, Molly
Player of the game :- Poppy, made 5 clean interceptions in the final quarter to thwart the resurgent MK Netters attack!

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Report by Steve Powell

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Sunday 2nd February 2020 - Hertford Hornets 47 - 60 Grangers

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Grangers senior team notched up their first away win of the season defeating top of the table Hertford Hornets, 60-47. In a very impressive display Grangers controlled and maintained their momentum throughout the whole match which ended up with them winning all four quarters. This was no mean feat against Hornets who had previously defeated Grangers by 65-41 earlier on in the season. After trailing 3-7 in the first few minutes Grangers soon found their stride with Leah (WD) Sofija (GD) and Poppy (GK) hunting for every turnover and making crucial touches to break down the Hornets attack. The score turned in Grangers favour ending 14-10 at the whistle. With patience and accurate centre passes from Kellise (C) Grangers retained possession allowing their play to dominate their opponents. Brilliant feeding from Harriet (WA) set up Jess (GA) and Nikki (GS), who’s on court movement and rotation resulted in quick ball exchanges and ultimately scoring opportunities. Leading by 29-24 at half time the game was still in the balance. A flurry of goals early in quarter three took Grangers into a commanding 13 goal lead. At this point Hornets changed their GA which seem to give them some hope. Suddenly it was Grangers turn to concede goal after goal. The league leaders were obviously not going down without a fight as they quickly reduced the margin to 5 goals, with three minutes of the quarter left to play. Kerri then took over at GD which steadied the ship and saw Grangers regain their composure and ease away to a 41-33 lead. Sofija re-entered the game at C giving Kellise a well earned rest. A brilliant last fifteen minutes followed. Hornets visibly began to crack under the intense Grangers play. A last roll of the dice from the Hornet's bench saw them call numerous injury substitution time outs to try and break up the flow of the game. None of their changes had any effect as Claire’s team went for the jugular by playing unstoppable possession netball. A superb 19 goals by Grangers finally finished off the Hornets. This was an impressive display by Grangers showing that on their day they are one of the best teams in division two.

Team :- Nikki, Jess, Harriet, Kellise, Leah, Sofija, Kerri, Poppy, Molly.

Player of the match :- Jess - under severe pressure from the Hornets defence she kept her composure (as usual) and maintained her superb accuracy under the post.

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Report by Steve Powell

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Sunday 12th January 2020 - Grangers 64 - 50 Tegate

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After a rather disjointed game against Harpenden last week which ended in a narrow 45-51 defeat Claire’s senior regional team were back to their best, winning against a very physical Tegate team, 64-50. Our previous game at the start of the season, ended in a hard fought 50 goal draw, thus we knew that this return game was probably going to be a bruising encounter. So it proved but every player for Grangers stepped up to the challenge. Trailing 13-15 after the first fifteen minutes Grangers came out with all guns blazing!!! Our superb Grangers team then matched and at times over ran Tegate with their quick ball delivery and excellent possessional play. A sustained run of goals in the second and third quarters did the damage, with scores of 17-10 and 18-12 respectively, leaving a 10 goal buffer for the last quarter. Grangers kept up their fabulous play to see off the tough Tegate team by 14 goals. This result means that Grangers are in a solid position just behind the pace setters in division two.

Brilliant game to watch!

Team - Kerri (GK) Sofija (GD) Leah (WD) Laura (C/WA) Elena (C) Harriet (WA) Jess (GA) Nikki (GS)

Player of the game Sofija - fabulous turnovers throughout the whole match.

We wish Rachael all the best on her forthcoming travels to South Africa.

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Report by Steve Powell

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Sunday 6th October 2019 - Grangers 61 - 48 Norfolk United

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After gaining promotion from division 3 last season Grangers senior team have made a solid start in division 2. A one goal loss to Harpenden, 54-55, and a draw against Tegate, 50 goals a piece, showed that our girls are well worth their place in the league. Having been denied two wins by the slimmest of margins Claire’s team had their sights on a victory over Norfolk United at home on Sunday 6th October. With the visitors obviously coming to play an open style of netball this was going to be a high scoring exciting game. In the first quarter Grangers kept edging ahead by 2 or 3 goals but to their credit the young Norfolk team kept pegging us back with the quarter ending 17 all. Grangers were without Poppy, after sustaining an injury, so Claire was having to try different combinations with Leah and Alice stepping in along side Rachael in our defensive end. By half time Grangers led 34-32, at this point Sophija moved to GD from C, Emily WD to C, Leah re-entered the game at WD and Beth replaced Laura at WA. The changes had the desired effect as our defence and mid-court took a strangle hold on the game. Our brilliant shooting combination of Jess and Nikki were once again hardly missing a shot as Grangers pulled away to open up a nine goal advantage, 49-40. Grangers then kept up the momentum gained in the previous quarter to see out the game with an impressive 61-48 victory and register our first win back in division 2.

This Sunday 13th October, Grangers host Hertford Hornets at our home venue, University of Bedfordshire Polhill Campus, centre pass at 12.30. This should be another tight affair. All supporters are always welcome so delay your Sunday lunch, put on your black and gold and come and be entertained!!!

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Report by Steve Powell

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Sunday 8th September 2019 - Thoroughbreds U14 30 - 17 Grangers U14

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On Sunday 8th September the U14 team played our first regional league match against Thoroughbreds in Chelmsford. 

Grangers had a strong start, with some good interceptions from Sophia S and Alisha G which lead to us drawing 7-7 after the first quarter. Changes were made for the second quarter and Thoroughbreds started to open a lead, but we still fought hard trying to catch up with them. 

This unfortunately carried on through the 3rd quarter with Thoroughbreds taking a larger lead with some great, accurate shooting. 

To get some points for the team we had to get at least half of the opposition's score so we knew what was needed. We started to close the gap in the last quarter with some lovely passing through the centre of court from Eve B and Eden and feeding into the circle. This was then finished off with some great shooting from Izzy W. We managed to match the Thoroughbreds score in the final quarter but we ended up with a 17-30 loss. Everyone enjoyed the day and learnt a lot. Well done to Alisha for earning player of the match and thank you to Claire and Rachael for coaching us. We are looking forward to our next match and aiming for a win!

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Report by Katie Willis

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Sunday 8th September 2019 - Co-Jags U16 41 - 48 Grangers U16

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With Grangers having the first centre pass, the ball was fed accurately and quickly into Charlie in the circle. Co-Jags defended well forcing an interception from us but then it was turned over and Ella M scored the first goal. For the first 5 minutes of the 1st quarter it was going goal for goal until there was some key interceptions by the Grangers defence, Imogen (GD) and Ella B (GK), this caused Grangers to pull away at the end of the 1st quarter leaving the score at 12-7.
Then changes were made bringing Maia on at GK and Lucy S at WD. The Grangers defence proved too strong for Co-Jags forcing key errors from them and then Grangers provided excellent feeds into the circle by Kellise (C) and Elena (WA).
The third quarter bought changes to the Grangers side, Kellise went GA and Lucy W moved to C. The centre passes flowed better in this quarter allowing Grangers to pull away further. There were some quality feeds made by Elena and Kellise and Charlie’s shooting was on target. Yet again the Grangers defence was intimidating leaving the score at the end of this quarter 40-28
In the final quarter there some final changes with Ella M coming into GS, Lucy S moving into WA and Imogen going into WD. In this quarter the Co-Jags pulled back with the final score 41-48 to Grangers.
Thank you to Claire & Rachael for coaching and to Netball Nan, Sue for scoring.

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Report by Elena Arnaouti

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Sunday 24th March 2019 - Grangers 72 - 51 Co-Jags

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Claire’s regional division 3 senior team finished off a fabulous season with a resounding 72-51 victory against Cottenham Jaguars. The Cambridgeshire team had a different tactical line up compared with when we previously played against them, making the game a much more open and entertaining spectacle. Both teams shooting ends were in fine form but as in the majority of Grangers games our attack proved too hot to handle scoring freely at every opportunity. The first quarter set the tone of the match as Grangers came out with all guns blazing. Nikki (GS) and Jess (GA), who have terrorised opposition defences all season, fired in shots at will to open up an impressive 20-9 lead. Our “duracell bunny” Emily was proving to have too much energy for her opponent as she dominated the mid-court exchanges. In defence Amy (GK), Poppy (GD) and Rachael (WD) were turning over and challenging for numerous balls. Along with Esme (unavailable this week) they have become a formidable defensive unit in many games only allowing our opponents 40 goals or under, helping us dominate and win games, which we previously would have found hard to get over the line. Leading 36-22 at half time Claire made a change at C, bringing on Laura, who has played an important role in keeping our momentum going through our mid-court. With renewed energy, Grangers played fantastic netball scoring 19 goals in the next fifteen minutes. The architects of our play throughout the season have been Kellise (WA) and Hannah (unavailable this week), their feeding of the circle has been second to none. Opposition defences have visibly wilted throughout the games as unstoppable feeds from them have set up our wonderful shooters. A lead of 55-35 gave the opportunity for Claire to bring on young Charlie, at GS, who has just moved into the regional squad. Scoring her first shot settled her nerves and with no pressure Charlie had a fantastic quarter scoring 8 goals to help us win the game 72-51. A big shout must also go to Harriet,who having found out that she was pregnant, still played throughout the first half of the season, putting in tremendous displays at WA/C, we look forward to having her back in September. All in all, Grangers have had one of their best seasons ever in regional netball. Our free flowing attacking style of play has lit up the league scoring 940 goals in the process in 16 games. Which is a brilliant average of 58.75 goals per game!
Thank you to all our wonderful supporters, Mark and Sue (netball nan) for scoring, everyone who did team teas, Heather, Keely and Graham for always helping set and serve teas and parents for transport. We could not have done it without you all.
Well done girls WHAT A GREAT SEASON! Lets do it again next year! Jelly Tots on order!

Report by Steve Powell

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Sunday 4th October 2018 - Christchurch 40 - 59 Grangers

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Grangers made the long journey out to Ipswich to face Christchurch. The team didn't let the early morning and long drive get them down, coming out first quarter  all guns blazing. Jess (GA) and Nikki (GS) hardly missed as we took control and forged into an 18-6 lead . With such a strong start, no changes were made at quarter time with the same 7 on for the 15 minutes. A much tighter quarter saw Christchurch put a double mark onto Nikki .We sneaked this one by the odd goal 10-9. Rach replaced Amy at GK and with Esme on to WD. Em moved up to C to give Kellise a break. With our attack mixing things up and rotating when possible we were still well in command. A quarter score of 14-12 left us leading by 15 goals. After a quick rest, Kellise retook the court to finish the game at C, linking back up with Harriet at WA. Final quarter and the goals kept coming thick and fast. We thought we were going to get to 60 but just ran out of time! 59-40 Final score. Superb play all over the Court. Our defending when out of possession was a major factor in securing such an emphatic win. Amy and Rach virtually shut down their shooter. Poppy ran her socks off all game tracking their GA who was scoring the majority of their goals. Esme steady at WD forcing them to reset with her arms over the ball on numerous occasions. Harriet kept things steady in attack with brilliant feeds into the circle. Em and Kellise held the Centre Court together both rarely giving the ball away. Finally Jess and Nikki - they looked more like Housby and Harten as they dominated the circle against a tough defence! 

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Report by Steve Powell

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Sunday 8th October 2017 - Grangers 47 - 33 Bears 2

 

Grangers entertained top of the table Bears on Sunday knowing that nothing but a solid performance would suffice to secure a victory. Bears opening two games had seen them score over 50 goals on both occasions leaving them undefeated and top of the division. Grangers on the other hand were looking to open their winning account. A close opening quarter left Grangers one goal in front, at 9 - 8. Going into the next 15 minutes Nadine replaced Jo at WD. Concerted pressure throughout the court was evident, and with great shooting from Jess (GS) and Louise (GA), Grangers gradually eased ahead by 7 to lead 21- 14 at half time. At this point Charlotte entered the game replacing Harriet at WA. With the bit between their teeth Grangers were more than matching Bears across the court. Rachael (GK) and Poppy (GD) were by now all over the Bears attack like a rash, ably backed up by Nadine, who was proving to be a thorn in the side of the Bears WA. A 12 - 9 quarter left Grangers ahead by 10, 33 - 23. Grangers then came out firing on all cylinders looking to finish the league leaders off. With their pocket rocket Ciara (C), running the mid court and Jess and Louise making the most of the opportunities, Grangers fired in another 14 goals to win the game, with a convincing and deserved victory by 47 - 33. The performance was a step up from previous weeks, with Claire’s whole squad playing their part in an impressive display. 

Player of the game Jess (GS) - after taking a battering from the Bears GK, Jess kept her composure throughout the game to shoot superbly. 

 

Report by Steve Powell

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Sunday 1st October 2017 - Hertford Hornets 53 - 29 Grangers

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On Sunday 1st October Grangers played Hertford Hornets away at Oaklands College, St Albans. The starting 7 was Jess (GS), Louise (GA and Captain), Jo (WA), Harriet (C), Nadine (WD), Poppy (GD) and Rachael (GK).  The side began confidently making a number of turn overs in defence and pressuring the ball throughout the court. The experience of the Hornets and the newness of the combination showed with a number of attacks lost while the 7 settled into the game. The quarter finished 7~11. At quarter time Harriet moved to WA, Nadine to C and Jo to WD. The second quarter saw bouts of outstanding play seeing turnovers in defence, shots converted and a continued strong work ethic throughout the court, however a number of turnovers bringing the ball through the court and into attack resulted in a half time score of 14~2O at half time. In an effort to give the experienced Hornets defence something different to think about the new attacking combination of Louise (GS), Jo (GA) and Harriet (WA) took to the court with Tilly (WD) proving some fresh energy in the defence. Unfortunately a promising start by the new combination was cut short 4 minutes into the quarter when Rachael came off after a hard contact in defence left her winded requiring a change to the effective circle defence combination of Rachael and Poppy. The versatile Jo moved from GA into GK with Jess returning to the court as GA. Hornets took full advantage as Grangers lost their focus and the quarter finished 23~38.  The final quarter saw Rachael return as GK with no other changes. The fact that Hornets used their full 12 player squad started to overwhelm Grangers, who by now were looking tired, the game finished 29~53. After a tight first half Grangers did well to gain a point for finishing within half. Overall there were some bouts of excellent play against a strong experienced side, learnings to take away but real promise for the future as this new squad and new combinations settle into the league. Player of the match was awarded to Jess.

 

Report by Emily St. John

 

 

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Sunday 10th September 2017 - Billericay 57 - 40 Grangers

 

Grangers regional team opened their season with a trip to Billericay. Claire knew that this would be a tough opening fixture but it would also be a good test for her young Grangers team. The game started with an exchange of goals, Grangers edging ahead 3 -2, with Jess (GS) and Mimi (GA) taking their early opportunities. Billericay then forced 3 turnovers off of the Grangers centre passes enabling them to extend their advantage and end the quarter with a 8 - 16 lead. Although behind Grangers were actually playing some excellent netball unfortunately interspersed with the odd error. Alice (WD), making an impressive regional debut, made way for Nadine, with Louise coming off the bench to take over GA. Ciara, also playing her first regional match, moved to C with Mimi taking over at WA. With the cobwebs blown away and the effect of the journey out of their legs Grangers started to capitalise on their tighter marking and better ball retention. Rachael (GK) and Poppy (GD) were getting the better of the Billericay attack both players fighting for every turnover. Meanwhile Jess and Louise began to fire in the goals helping Grangers edge the second quarter 13 - 11 to leave the half time score 21 - 27. With no changes Grangers were hoping to stay on the Billericay coat tails however a few errors and misplaced passes let Billericay off the hook. 4 unanswered goals wasn’t what the doctor ordered! To their credit Grangers did not fold and after their shaky start to quarter 3 they dragged themselves back into the game. Playing some brilliant netball Grangers then matched Billericay goal for goal eventually losing by the 4 early goals they conceded in the quarter, 9-13. Tilly (WD) came on at this point, making her the 3rd regional debutant for Grangers. Billericay also made a change bringing on fresh legs at C. The experience of Billericay slowly began to tell in the last fifteen minutes allowing them to pull clear for a 40 - 57 win. Claire’s young team put up a tremendous fight against one of the stronger sides that they will encounter this season. There were certainly a lot of positives to take from this display with Alice, Tilly and Ciara gaining valuable court time.

Player of the game - Nadine:- made numerous turnovers and excellent circle feeds. 

 

Report by Steve Powell

 

 

 

Sunday 3rd April 2016 

 

Grangers signed off the Regional netball season with a convincing away win against Star, finally winning 48-39. With the league format changing and only one team being promoted, Grangers found themselves lying in second place one point behind the leaders. Although they had overall won the most games of any team in the league, 12 wins out of 16 games played, this wasn’t quite enough to gain promotion.

The start of the game saw Grangers uncharacteristically storm into a 15 - 5 lead. Their attack of Sasha Joseph (WA), Harriet Cole (C), Rosie Russell (GA) and Ria Xenophontos (GS) were giving the Star defence a torrid time. Whenever one of the shooters missed the other would pick up the rebound and score. In the defensive end the trio of Louise Powell (GK), Poppy Blair (GD) and Becca Hooker (WD) were all over the Star attack like a rash. The second quarter was a lot tighter with Star putting up more resistance. Grangers still managed to win the 15 minutes by 1 leaving the score 26 - 15 at half time. Claire Southam was looking to play her full squad of nine. Two changes followed. Harriet made way at C, after running her socks off, being replaced by Charlotte Fossey. Annabel Powell replaced her sister at GK with Louise moving into attack at GS. A 13 - 7 quarter followed to put the young Grangers in a commanding 17 goal lead. Annabel at GK was instrumental in turning over numerous Star attacks during this period. The last phase saw Sasha re-enter the game at WA. With 5 positional changes Grangers started to look a little unbalanced throughout the court and found it hard to find their form of the previous 45 minutes. That said it was fantastic to see Claire Southam’s squad all get some court time as each player has contributed to a wonderful season which has seen Grangers pull off some memorable victories against tough opposition. 

Claire Southam can rightly be proud of her young team who have lit up the league with their fast flowing brand of netball often over running teams with their sheer exuberance. Grangers will be looking to build on this season. With so many talented youngsters in their club another push for promotion seems assured. 

 

Player of the game: Ria Xenophontos (GS/GA) hardly missed a shot for Grangers. 

Report by Steve Powell

 

Sunday 20th March 2016

 

Grangers managed to pull off a hard fought victory against Hertford Hornets eventually winning by five goals 44-39. The first quarter saw Grangers go from a commanding 6-3 opening to a disapointing deficit of 6 goals as they found it difficult to convert their chances. The Hornets on the other hand where taking their opportunities scoring 13 goals to the Grangers 7. Coach Claire Southam reacted with wholesale positional changes. Becca Hooker moved from WD to C Sasha Joseph took over at WA and Louise Powell replaced Rosie Russel at GA.The final change saw Lottie Robinson make her second regional appearance for Grangers at WD. The rotation of their mid-court stemmed the tide but in attack Grangers were still struggling to score with any fluency. At this stage only the accuracy of Ria Xenophontos (GS) was keeping Grangers in the game. An even quarter of 9 goals apiece left Grangers trailing by 6 at half time. More changes followed with Powell moving to GS allowing Xenophontos to take the GA bib. Southams final roll of the dice saw Harriot Cole come on at C and Russel reenter the game at WA. Grangers now looked like they meant business. Brilliant turnovers by Poppy Blair (GD) and Ellie Rattu (GK) set the tone as Grangers clawed their way back into the game. A 13-8 quarter set things up for a grandstand finish as Grangers reduced the Hornets lead to one goal 29-30. The final quarter was always going to be a nail biter.The game then flowed from end to end. Both teams were now playing possession netball off of every centre pass well aware that a turnover could be critical. With the score standing at 36 all Grangers made the breakthrough. A virtual joint interception from Robinson and Rattu proved the turning point. Grangers kept hold of the ball and moved it into Powell who held her nerve and scored. Hornets visibaly began to fold as Grangers scented victory. It was left to Xenophontos to finally halt the Hornets as she finished with a flurry of goals to ease her side to a 44-39 victory.  

Player of the game- Rhia Xenophontos (GS/GA) After loosing her shooting partner Frankie Smith half way through the season through injury Ria has kept Grangers in the title race with her brilliant shooting

Report by Steve Powell