Essex Open A fought back from 5 goals down with less than 3 minutes to go to earn a draw.
Essex Open A 45 Leyton A 45
In a dramatic finish to a thrilling game of netball Essex Open snatched a draw when defeat seemed to be inevitable. With less than 3 minutes to go in a quarter in which Leyton had been in control Essex trailed 45- 39 and there seemed to be no way back. Not only were they 6 goals down but Leyton had centre pass. However in the last few minutes Essex raised there game. Michelle Stewart was outstanding in defence ably assisted by Ellie Stanley who was returning from injury, whilst Nicole Alves, Rebecca Wilks and Sarah Biss took control of the centre court and Louise Acons and Sophia Sefton kept their composure in the circle. Essex overturned 3 Leyton centre passes and took advantage of their own to bring the score to 45-44 with seconds left on the clock. Another excellent Essex move found Sophia Sefton under the posts. She duly converted and the final whistle went and the great comeback had been completed.
From the outset this was an excellent game of netball with both sides evenly matched. Essex started well and and enjoyed some good possession to take an early 4-0 lead. Leyton immediately fought back with 3 goals in response.The rest of the quarter was end to end and when the whistle blew Essex were in front 15-12.
However at the start of the second quarter Essex threw away all the good work they had done earlier as careless mistakes allowed Leyton to score 5 goals without reply to take the lead. Essex then came back strongly and Alves, Biss and Wilks took control once again allowing Acons and Sefton to score 8 goals with Leyton managing only 2 in reply to go 23-19 in front.
With Essex threatening to take control, Leyton came back strongly again and at the half time interval had edged ahead 27-26.
The early stages of the second half saw both teams match each other goal for goal and with 5 minutes to go of the 3rd quarter the scores stood level at 32 all. Leyton finished the quarter strongly and took a useful 4 goal lead into the final quarter as they led 37-33.
Leyton scored with their centre pass at the start of the final quarter to go 5 goals in front. Essex were playing well and getting plenty of interceptions. They pulled back to trail 40-38 and a grandstand finished looked likely. However Leyton stormed back scoring 5 goals with Essex managing a solitary goal in response to hold a 45-39 lead and victory for Leyton had seemed inevitable. However the Essex fight back was underway and the end result was probably fair to both sides.
Stewart, Stanley, Alves, Biss, R Wilks, Acons, Sefton

Essex Open B 34 Marshall’s Purple 50
A depleted Essex team were convincingly defeated by a superior Marshall’s side. The early stages suggested that this would be a tight game as with only 5 minutes gone Essex led 5-3. However the warning signs were there that this was not going to be a good day for Essex as Marshall’s scored 9 goals without reply to take a 12-5 lead. Misplaced passes, basic errors and a lack of desire meant Essex had an uphill struggle.
The start of the second quarter saw the game evenly balanced as Jasmine Eastabrook, Rosie Brabrook and Rebecca Mead got lots of possession for Louise Acons and Jaida Simpson to turn into goals. Halfway through the quarter both sides had added 7 goals each to their respective totals. Once again however Essex allowed the game to slip away from them and in the remaining part of the quarter Marshall’s managed 7 goals with Essex managing only 2.
At half time Marshall’s held a 10 goal advantage as they led 26-16 and to all intents and purposes the game was over for Essex.
The third quarter was tightly contested with both sides matching each other goal for goal. For Essex Naomi Allen came into the side and Essex had a much better shape to their game. Unfortunately Essex could never string together a number of goals which was needed if they were to get back into the match. With a quarter to go Essex trailed 40-28.
The last quarter saw both sides struggling to get their game together. Essex started really slowly allowing Marshall’s to score 5 goals with Essex managing just a solitary reply. With both sides struggling to score the last quarter fizzled out and Marshall’s claimed the points in a 54-30 victory.
Campbell, Stevens, N Allen, Eastabrook, Brabrook, Mead, Acons, Simpson

Other results
Essex C team defeated Island 1 40-26 to remain top of Division 3. Essex D lost 48-31 to Cumberland 1. The E team remain in a strong position after beating Marshalls Black 51-24. Essex Open F lost 38-24 to Cumberland 3, whilst the G suffered a 75-22 defeat at the hands of Cumberland 4.