A great start to the Kingston League

After successfully winning our first Surrey game the pressure was back on as the first Kingston game of the 2015/16 season had arrived. With a crowd building at the mighty Vandals rugby club the A team were keen not to disappoint their home fans.
After a slightly extended warm up due one of the Grasshoppers’ player’s not yet arriving, the away team were eventually forced to take the court missing one of their key players. Vandals started out strong and were forcing turnovers down the court which Jo and Anna slotted away. Although a bit frantic at times, Vandals won the quarter 11-5.

Quarter time and with Lou giving some sound advice the Vandals retook the court for the second quarter feeling a little bit calmer. Lucy came on at GA and Kat at WD with Anna moving to C, Vandals turned over Grasshoppers first centre pass and continued to this a further 6 times meaning the away team only managed to score 1 goal the whole quarter. A storming quarter by the Vandals saw ball after ball being turned over with the attack and defence linking well to bring the ball seamlessly down the court. Great defensive pressure from Lizzi and Charlie combined with Kat and Anna limiting the options of the Grasshoppers centre court players was making it hard for them to get the ball to their attacking end. Lucy and Jo were in full flow in the Vandals attacking circle, slotting away 15 goals in the quarter to give Vandal’s a 26-6 lead at half time.

Half time saw Elaine come back on at C, Michelle T at WD, Kat move to WA, Anna to GA and Lucy move back to GS. Another good quarter saw the Vandals rack up the goals with Lucy remaining cool and focused under the pressure of having 2 defenders marking her in the attacking circle, she slotted away numerous goals as Elaine and Kat provided precise feeds in to the circle. It seemed as though Grasshoppers missing player had turned up and taken up the GA position as well, but this was no match for Lizzi and Charlie who continued to dominate the defensive circle. Michelle T was also keeping up the defensive pressure making a number of great interceptions which were converted in to goals. Vandals won the quarter 11-5 taking their led out to 37-11 approaching the last quarter.

The last quarter saw Jo come back on as GS and Lucy move to GA, Grasshoppers came out fighting but Vandals remained focused and (mainly) kept to the advice Lou had given them at three quarter time. The dreaded thought of having to do burpee’s for every goal scored without using the reset may have also been in the forefront of their minds! Elaine was making some great drives in the attacking third and linking with the defence to bring any turnover balls down court quickly. A few tired throw away balls gave Grasshoppers the chance to score some great shots but the Vandals stayed strong and won the quarter 8-3 to make the final score line 45-14 to Vandals. A great team performance, Vandals played well and kept focus throughout the game, great start to the Kingston league. Let's keep it up girls.

Coaches Player: Kat Liddle
Oppo Player: Lizzi Allen
Players Player: Michelle Tomlinson and Anna Mitchell