Author: Steve Wilks

The Essex open U12 Maroons played against New Campbell U14 this Saturday in the Essex Met U14 league.

In the first quarter the Maroons started off strongly by scoring the first centre pass. However, New Campbell pushed on and took a 5-1 lead, helped by wrong pass selections made by the Maroons. As the quarter went on, we closed the gap ending with a tight score 6-5.

we started the second quarter as we finished the first and the momentum continued into the third quarter. We managed to keep up with our opponents all through out.

Had we made better choices when attacking we could of ended both quarters ahead but instead we finished 2 behind at the end of the 3rd quarter.

During the last quarter we made a few mistakes while attacking as we lost possession a couple of times as tiredness had started to kick in, which let New Campbell to open the gap and take a 5-goal lead although we tried our best to close the gap we ran out of time and lost by 3.

Overall, it was a very close game with the final score being 19 – 16 to New Campbell. It was an end to end game as both teams scored to cancel each other out but New Campbells height definitely had played to their advantage.

OPOM: Asya Cimikoglu
CPOM: Asya Cimikoglu

Credit Asya Cimikoglu (U12M)

Essex Open U14 Maroons vs Aspire Topaz
Essex May Under-16 League

Essex Open U14 Maroons entered the fixture with a depleted squad of just seven players due to illness and unavailability. Despite this, they started confidently, controlling the game through solid passing and intelligent movement to build an early lead.

The second quarter continued in the same manner, although Essex were reduced to six players when Azra was forced to leave the court feeling unwell. The setback did little to disrupt their rhythm, and Essex extended their advantage to lead 22–10 at half-time.

Essex maintained their intensity in the third quarter, defending superbly and restricting Aspire Topaz to just one point while continuing to add to their lead despite playing a player short.

In the final quarter, Essex managed the game comfortably, controlling possession and maintaining the gap to secure a convincing 35–22 victory.

Ariella was named Opposition Player of the Match.

EO Blues vs Brentwood

Quarter 1
We started the game off strong by scoring the first few goals. However, some of us were doing footwork, and the passes were at times either too strong or not strong enough, leading to a few loose balls and wasted opportunities.

Our defenders were doing very well. Brentwood were called for held ball twice. Our centre passes needed some work as we weren’t punching through for a forward offer onto the ball.

Quarter 2
Bisi advised us what to do for our centre passes to ensure success, although not every centre pass was successful, but we tried very hard. Our defence team continued to work really hard to keep Brentwood from scoring.

Quarter 3
This is the quarter where Brentwood scored the most goals, although we still kept them to a low outcome of 2 goals, doubled what they scored in previous quarters.

I was starting to get the hang of supporting Mary when she was shooting; Mary is a new shooter for the Blues, playing in both ends of the circle for us.

Quarter 4
Mary and I was starting to get a good rapport. Centre passes were much better as we were driving up to the side and cutting in front of our players towards the middle, this is something that really helped get the ball down to goal.

Our Overall Score – 22-5 win. On my own personal reflections of my performance, I feel that I could improve by staying in front of my player more so my teammates could find an easier to pass to me.

As a team, we need to improve our forward movement towards the ball and give strong passes in front of our player.

As a team we successfully made many interceptions and gained tips working very hard the defensive circle.

Opposition Player of Match (OPOM) – Mary
Coaches Player of Match (CPOM) – Savanna ‎

Credit – Savanna U12B

U11 Essex Maroon – U12 league vs Marshalls Maroon.

Essex Open Maroons put in a fantastic performance today, securing a brilliant 17–7 win over a strong Marshalls Maroon team in a match they controlled from start to finish.

From the very first centre pass, Essex showed great focus, energy and teamwork, setting the tone early and building momentum with every quarter.

Quarter Scores:
•     Q1: Essex Open 3 – 1 Marshalls
•     Q2: Essex Open 9 – 4 Marshalls
•     Q3: Essex Open 13 – 4 Marshalls
•     Q4: Essex Open 17 – 7 Marshalls

The defensive end worked tirelessly, applying constant pressure and forcing key turnovers that helped Essex stay firmly in control. Through the midcourt, the ball movement was sharp, confident and well-timed, allowing the shooters to receive strong feeds and convert consistently.

By halftime, Essex had built a solid lead through great teamwork and they carried that same intensity into the second half. The final quarter saw the team maintain their composure, finishing strongly and sealing a well-deserved victory.

Opposition Player of the Match:
Goldie – recognised for outstanding defensive effort and determination throughout the game.

Coaches’ Players of the Match:
Chloe & Ottilie – superb in the midcourt, working tirelessly to win possession and deliver excellent feeds into the shooters.

A brilliant team performance full of effort, teamwork and positivity, a result the girls should be really proud of. Well done, Essex Open Maroons!

U11 Blues 15 – 0 Woodford Warriors

Essex Open U12 Blues came back after a tough match last week and put lots of their learning into practice.

Quarter one saw a slow start with some missed chances but they got into their rhythm and started applying good pressure to the Warriors in the centre of the court, backed up by strong defending. We took our chances at the end of the quarter and were 2-0 up.

Q2 we started strong and got some quick goals to consolidate the lead. The defence kept tight with good intercepts. Some great shooting from distance meant we were 7-0 up at half time.

Woodford warriors battled hard in quarter 3 but our more disciplined footwork and tighter passing meant we maintained our dominance across the court. It was great to see good movement and good communication between the team finding space and making some great passes. We remained patient and took our chances at the end of the quarter to get three more goals in quick succession.

In Q4 we didn’t ease up the pressure and scored five more goals. It was a really strong team performance.

Well done Blues.

OPOM: Rose – great feeding and work in the circle
CPOM: Georgia – fantastic shooting today

Credit: J Blackham