I was Essex Open D v Essex Open E at Redbridge on Saturday. In this Division 4 clash between 2nd and 3rd it was the D team who just came out on top.
Author: Steve Wilks
Essex Open C secured their second win of the season with an impressive 59-47 win over Leyton B
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Important win for Essex Open B
This was a really important result for Essex Open B as they defeated New Cambell Red 49-30 to keep them clear of the bottom 2.
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Convincing win for Under 11s
Essex Open U11s vs Aspire Diamonds U12s – Match Report
Essex Open U11s delivered an outstanding performance to secure a 27–2 victory over Aspire Diamonds U12s.
Essex made a confident start to the game, showing strong movement and accurate passing through the court. Their attacking combinations quickly paid off, with the shooters converting their chances to take a 6–0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw Essex continue to build momentum. Tight defensive pressure limited Aspire’s opportunities, while Essex’s attacking unit remained calm and composed. By half-time, Essex had extended their advantage to 11–0.
After the break, Aspire worked hard to find space and were rewarded with their first goal of the match. However, Essex responded immediately with quick transitions and sharp finishing, pushing the score on to 19–1 by the end of the third quarter.
In the final quarter saw Essex maintained their intensity and teamwork, adding further goals to close out the match strongly. Aspire showed great determination to keep competing, scoring again, but Essex finished the game comfortably with a huge 27–2 victory. Their best win yet and well deserved.
The Players’ Player of the Match was awarded to Hannah M for her all-round performance and consistent contribution across the court.
The Coaches’ Player of the Match went to Matilda for her excellent shooting, demonstrating accuracy, confidence and composure throughout the game.
A fantastic team effort from all of the Essex Open U11s, showing great skill, teamwork and determination, putting into practice the training their coaches have been working on.
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Tough encounter for Under 10s
The U10 Essex Open Blues put in a strong performance against Manor Met in a closely contested match, with Manor Met taking the win 7–3. The game was very tight in the first half, with both teams showing solid defence and working hard for every ball. Essex Open Blues defended bravely throughout, making it difficult for Manor Met to score. Xyla stood out at goal shooter, scoring some amazing goals under pressure. Essex Open Blues played really well as a team, supporting each other on court and showing great teamwork, and most importantly, they clearly enjoyed themselves from start to finish.
POM Carmen
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Congratulations to Lilia Bull
Congratulations form everyone at Essex Open to Lilia Bull who has been selected for the U17 Europe Netball Event Squad. Well done Lilia!
Telstars 44, Essex Open 59.
Essex Open started the second half of their Regional League campaign with a convincing victory over Telstars. With rivals Claygate managing only to draw, Essex are now top of the table with an excellent goal difference. In the first quarter Essex were not at their best, although Maddie Oshodi and Leah Hayzelden found the net frequently, too often Essex when in possession gave the ball away. As a result, at the end of the first quarter, Telstars held a narrow 14-13 lead.
However, in the second quarter, Essex put this behind them and played some excellent netball. With Rebecca Wilks, Jasmine Odegberin and Nicole Alves dominant in the centre court and Hazelden and Oshodi continuing to shoot well, Essex started the second quarter scoring 11 goals with only 4 in response. Although Telstars continued to push forward, at the half time interval Essex held a 10-goal lead, being 33-23 in front. Although the two Telstars had two excellent shooters, Emma Shaw and Johanne Linehan made things very difficult for them.
In the third quarter, Essex continued to dominate and by the end of it, in effect, the points had been sealed as they stretched their lead to 15 goals with a 47-32 scoreline. Essex made some changes in the last quarter and both sides did not match the standard of the previous three quarters and Essex were held 12-all. At the end of it, Essex had secured a convincing 59-44 victory with all nine players, including the second-half replacements, Emma Thorogood and Sophia Sefton, playing their part. In the next game, Essex are away to close rivals Claygate in which will be a very important fixture.
Team, Shaw, Thorogood, Linehan, Alves, Odegberin R. Wilks, Hayzelden, Oshodi, Sefton.
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Narrow defeat for Under 12s
On Saturday 10th , our U12 team played Woodford Warriors Navy U14 in freezing conditions . Overall it was a fairly close match, but Woodford Warriors ended up winning 18–14.
Despite the tough conditions, we started the match strongly , moving the ball quickly and took an early lead in the first quarter. A lead that should’ve been more substantial than it was but we missed opportunities.
As the game went on, we seemed to underestimate the height of the Woodford Warriors players, and a few sloppy passes and lack of concentration caused us to lose our lead. Our defence was commited throughout the game, working hard to put pressure on the opposition, and despite some silly errors we remained in the fight .However, our midcourt and attackers were not playing to our usual high standards , struggling to turn possession into points .
When we managed to get the ball into our attacking third, Woodford Warriors defended well, and we struggled to get the ball close enough to the post to make shooting easier. As the match continued, Woodford Warriors grew stronger and more confident . Their GS missed nothing all game . Although we tried hard, we were unable to close the gap .
Overall, it was a challenging game, but the team showed great effort, especially in defence, and we now know ( thanks to Bisi !) what we need to work on ready for the next match.
Congratulations to Jess, who was the opposition and coaches Player of the Match.
Credit: Ava Pledger (U12M)
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Essex Open A ease to victory
Essex Open A, 70, New Cambell Blue, 35.
Essex eased their way back into their Met League fixtures with a comfortable victory against New Cambell Blue. From midway through the first quarter where the score was 9-7, Essex took control and after that there was never any doubt as to which way the result would go. Missing Leah Hayzelden, Rochelle Reynolds-Blanche played as goal attack and with Maddie Oshodi scored sufficient goals in the first quarter to give Essex a 17-9 lead. Although the first quarter was tight, Essex moved away in the second quarter. In the centre court, Rebecca Wilks, Jasmine Odegberin and Nicole Alves were dominant and created lots of opportunities For Reynolds-Blanche and Oshodi to extend their lead. At half-time, Essex led 37-16 and had effectively sealed the points. Essex continued to dominate in the third quarter, although Manor came back into the game slightly. Defensively, Essex was solid with Johanne Linehan and Emma Shaw proving to be very effective in the defensive circle. In the last quarter, both sides dropped their tempo and as a result there were fewer scoring opportunities. However, Essex still managed to score 16 goals and finish with an emphatic 70-35 victory.
Shaw, Linehan, Alves, Odegberin, R Wilks, Reynolds-Blanche and Oshodi
Today’s London Pulse tournament was a great success between the entire team that lead us to qualifying
As a result, we have now qualified to compete against Magic at the Copperbox for the final on the 22nd of March. It will be tough, but I’m sure we can stay competitive and win.
On the topic of Magic, our first game was against them, it was tough but we played as good as we could at the time.
Although the score was a disappointing score of 6-3 to Magic, we kept working hard during the other matches and finished in position to match them in qualification.
What my personal opinion on what we could work on for future games is, If the other team is playing very fast paced, when we get a turnover or any ball of ours we should slow down and get them to think ‘ oh they are going slow let’s just match with them. Apart from that our attack and defence was spectacular especially, Jess and Edie in the circle. They kept the shooter high and forced the shots which caused too much pressure on them.
The rest of the tournament went perfectly.
We listened to the coaches.
We sucked in what they said and put it out on to the court.
From the tournament, London Pulse chose me as MVP from the whole group of over 200 players; as they said my defense were tough on the outside but I still went in there and put up the shots.
As I always say at home when I’m practicing my shots and movement, it is not me alone, it was a team effort and I couldn’t have done it without all the circle edge support and the other shooters.
Pulse MVP – Elisha
CPOM – whole squad
Credit: Elisha Owolabi (U12M)