Today’s victory against Leeds Athletic was not only Grangetown’s final home game of 2018, it also marked the midway point of the club’s inaugural season in Premier League division 1.
 
With local MP Anna Turley watching from the sidelines, Grangetown took the first possible opportunity to bounce back from the previous weekend’s heavy defeat against league leaders Oldham, by recording a 54-44 success over a Leeds side that has won just one fixture so far this season.
 
The London Pulse Super League duo of Ash Neal and Brie Grierson both returned to the Grangetown squad, and Ireland international defender Genevieve Slater was also available. The home side’s starting seven was:
 
GK: Jenny Mrozik
GD: Gen Slater
WD: Claudia Heath
C: Vicky Rees (c)
WA: Ria Small
GA: Ash Neal
GS: Abbie Le Brocq
 
Grangetown led 16-9 at the end of the first quarter. The feature of the opening fifteen minutes was the level of pressure exerted by the Grangetown defence, which forced a number of errors, but also saw a superb interception by Claudia Heath, followed by a lightning quick transition down the court, with Ria Small feeding Ash Neal for an outstanding goal.
 
The final goal of the period came in similar fashion, with Gen Slater claiming her second interception in as many minutes before Abbie Le Brocq converted from distance.
 
The advantage had been extended to 13 goals by half time, with Grangetown producing some brilliant passages of play right throughout the court. Three goals stood out. Firstly, Ria’s fine long pass beat the entire Leeds defence to find Ash totally free under the post.
 
Ria then lost the ball on the edge of the circle, only for it to bounce back towards her. As the defenders moved towards her, Ria was able to lean forward, grab the ball, keep her balance and flick a pass to the unmarked Abbie.
 
Finally, Jenny Mrozik’s leaping interception was gathered by Gen Slater, the fast, but precise passage of play through the court ended with Abbie scoring a goal that brought the Grangetown bench to their feet.
 
The scoreline was 32-19 in Grangetown’s favour as the hooter sounded, but it had been far from one-way traffic. Leeds defender Alice Smith was a constant thorn in the side of the Grangetown attack, and Annie James, who played at goal attack for the opening thirty minutes, was both composed and accurate under the net.
 
Katie Walton and Brie Grierson were introduced for the second half, but it was the visitors who made the best start, scoring six unanswered goals. Grangetown maintained the defensive pressure, but Leeds played with patience and no little assurance, and it was a relief when Ash finally got Grangetown back on the scoreboard.
 
Grangetown rallied and led 41-31 at three-quarter time, but Leeds had deservedly won the period, with Georgia Pexton injecting some real pace and energy at wing attack. For Grangetown, Claudia remained prominent at wing defence, but the highlight of the quarter was Katie Walton’s tremendous mid-air interception, which led to Ash converting the subsequent scoring opportunity.
 
Leeds kept battling throughout the final quarter, narrowing the gap to just six goals at one stage, but the result was realistically never in doubt, and the 10-goal advantage had been restored by the time the final hooter sounded; the scoreboard reading 54-44.
 
After the game, there was a sense that the victory wasn’t as emphatic as it could or should have been. It says a lot for how far this Grangetown squad has progressed that a Prem 1 victory can be tinged with a hint of disappointment. Credit should also be given to Leeds, who were arguably the better side in the second half.
 
The fact is that after nine matches in the top flight of English club netball, Grangetown now have five wins. This is an outstanding achievement for Vicky Rees and her squad, who have not only gone a long way to guaranteeing their top-flight status for next season, but have played some brilliant netball along the way, and even taken the opportunity to allow several of the club’s most talented youngsters to showcase their talents against some of the best players in the country.
 
For the record, my Player of the Match was Claudia Heath, who produced her best Grangetown performance against her former club, with the official award going to Gen Slater for a fine game at the heart of the home defence.

Grangetown played host to the reigning champions and unbeaten league leaders Oldham in round 8 of the Prem 1 season.
 
The Grangetown squad had produced several outstanding performances to win four of their opening seven fixtures, results which had taken the club to fourth position in the table; but Oldham represented Grangetown’s biggest challenge since gaining promotion to the top flight of English club netball.
 
The visiting squad was full of players with Super League experience, including Taylor Cullen, who will be linking up with Grangetown’s Ash Neal and Brie Grierson at London Pulse; and Laura Malcolm, the former England international, who has re-joined Manchester Thunder from Severn Stars, but who has also visited Grangetown on a couple of recent occasions to run coaching sessions for the club’s youngsters.
 
In contrast, the home side were without Ireland defender Genevieve Slater, as well as their three Super League players, Ash, Brie, and new Loughborough Lightning recruit, Tuaine Keenan.
 
“We have three home games in a row,” explained Head Coach Gel Williams, “but our home matches are effectively away fixtures for these three girls. Of course, they’ve been instrumental in us having such an amazing start to the season, but their Super League commitments are only going to increase, and I have to make sure that the other members of the squad have a chance to show what they can do at this level. And how often will they be able to go out on court against the best team in the country?”
 
Harriet Baxter and Erin Peters were brought into the Prem 1 squad for the first time, Harriet having been a regular member of the squad that gained promotion, and Erin earning her place after making her debut for Ireland in the recent friendly against Scotland A.
 
The starting sevens were as follows:
 
                        Katie Walton       GK      Kerry Almond
                       Jenny Mrozik       GD      Abby Tyrrell
                     Claudia Heath       WD      Laura Malcolm
                          Vicky Rees        C        Maria McAndrew
                             Ria Small      WA       Amelia Hall
                   Abbie Le Brocq       GA       Kathryn Turner
                          Alice Currie      GS       Amy Clinton
 
The opening six goals were shared, Kerry Almond claiming the first of a number of interceptions for the visitors, and Alice Currie showing commendable strength to gather and convert two rebounds.
 
An excellent read from Laura Malcolm saw her pick off a pass and feed Maria McAndrew, who looped the ball to Amy Clinton for an important goal against the Grangetown centre pass.
 
Both sides were making mistakes and there were four turnovers before the next goal was scored by Kathryn Turner. Vicky Rees sent a lovely pass into the circle, but the shot was unsuccessful; and Maria immediately set up Amy to punish the home side for the miss.
 
Maria and Amy then exchanged four short quick passes, before the tall left-handed shooter netted again, but at the other end Alice showed great strength under pressure to hold onto possession and score with a looping shot.
 
Kerry’s second interception of the quarter set up another Oldham attack. The visitors were playing with pace and width and inside the circle, both shooters looked assured. The resulting goal made it 6-11, and two passes later it was 6-12, as Oldham began to take control of the game.
 
Twice Ria Small found Alice to score, but Laura brilliantly palmed down Ria’s next pass to secure a turnover. Jenny Mrozik was unlucky to be penalised for an almost identical play, but Kathryn took full advantage to further extend Oldham’s lead, which was eight goals at the end of the first quarter.
 
Both sides made changes, with Hannah Raine being introduced for Grangetown, and Taylor Cullen coming onto court for Oldham.
 
An Oldham defender tapped the ball out of play under no pressure, but from the restart, the shot was missed, Oldham regathered the ball and a nice take from Amy saw the visitors score the second of what would be eight unanswered goals.
 
The pace of Oldham’s transitions down court was visibly increasing and, well as Grangetown were defending, the visiting attack, marshalled by Laura and Maria was irresistible at times. It took a nicely delayed pass from Abbie Le Brocq to Alice to finally get Grangetown on the scoreboard in the second quarter, but more great work from Kerry, who intercepted a sideline pass, helped to set up another opportunity.
 
Grangetown’s attackers were working really hard to try and create space, whereas Laura was prominent in much of Oldham’s best work; another interception followed by a nonchalant overhead pass were touches of real class.
 
Kerry and Taylor both got a hand to passes, but the ball twice bounced back to Grangetown. Cathy Hewitt (who had replaced Abbie) netted, but the goal was cancelled out in a matter of seconds as Laura’s pass found Amy totally free under the net.
 
Claudia Heath looked to have claimed a great intercept, but play was brought back for a penalty to the visitors. The hooter sounded, with the scoreboard reading 17-34 in favour of a visiting side who had combined relentless defensive pressure with fluid, exciting attacking play.
 
The result was already beyond doubt, but Oldham were in no mood to relax, and opened the second half with twelve successive goals. One passage of play seemed to sum up this period of the game. Jenny Mrozik did well to complete a turnover, only for the ball to be lost in mid-court. Hannah Raine reclaimed possession, but Oldham immediately intercepted, and the goal almost inevitably followed.
 
Kerry’s excellent game at goal keeper continued as she pressured Cathy Hewitt into passing when a shot looked possible; the intention was read, the pass intercepted, and Oldham were back on the attack.
 
Offensively, Ria and Alice had been Grangetown’s best combination and they brought a halt to Oldham’s run of goals. Claudia was again unfortunate when another interception was denied by the umpire’s whistle; this time for a replayed ball. However, Grangetown did score next, as Ria fed Nicole Molloy, who delayed her looped pass just long enough for the defender to commit, leaving Alice with a straightforward shot from under the net.
 
An overarm pass from Ria to Alice took Grangetown to 20, although by then, the visitors had already passed their half century.
 
At the opposite end of the court, Amy didn’t even set her next shot, just lobbed it in one-handed. Alice replied, and Nicole’s shot gave Grangetown a rare goal against the Oldham centre pass.
 
Despite the game being over as a contest, there was plenty of commitment from both sides. In fact, the game occasionally became quite physical; Vicky was pushed, potentially dangerously, whilst in mid-air; and moments later, Hannah was barged off the ball – both incidents going unpunished.
 
There was just time for Nicole to net twice before the end of the period; the first goal was nicely taken after Abby Tyrrell, who had been excellent at goal defence, moved to her right anticipating a pass across the circle. In that moment, Nicole chose to shoot and although the shot was rushed, it found the net.
 
Harriet Baxter was brought on for the final fifteen minutes, and her first involvement was to collect a long pass and feed the returning Abbie Le Brocq to score. Unfortunately, by that time, Oldham had already added seven more goals to their total.
 
The visitors took the opportunity to try a number of different combinations, all of which looked to be effective. Certainly, the changes didn’t affect the pace of the game, but to Grangetown’s credit, they stuck to their task, with the experienced mid-court duo of Ria and Vicky setting a fine example. In fact, it was Vicky who turned over possession by getting a hand to an Oldham pass; Abbie converted, and netted again with a long-range effort soon after.
 
Laura had returned for Oldham at wing attack, her third different position, and she got a strong hand to a pass at marker to secure the ball. Amy netted – two handed this time, after her previous one-handed effort had bounced away off the ring.
 
Emily Whitehead played the second half at centre for the visitors and she showed great awareness to flick the ball to Amelia Hall, who feinted to shoot before feeding Amy who netted. Emily’s next contribution was a long pass down the right, which was well-taken by Laura, who instantly passed inside to Amy, whose shooting accuracy remained of the highest standard throughout.
 
There was just time for Erin Peters to make her Grangetown Prem 1 debut … although she was handed the unenviable task of playing against Laura Malcolm for the game’s closing minutes.
 
The final score was 35-76 in favour of the league leaders. They are obviously a fine side, and even though they were rarely tested by a Grangetown squad that remains inexperienced at this level, Oldham didn’t let their standards drop, and when you have players as good as Emily Whitehead and Taylor Cullen starting on the bench, you are going to give any side the sternest of challenges.
 
For Grangetown, the size of the defeat might be disappointing, but it was a great opportunity for the younger players to test themselves against the best that English club netball has to offer; and the coaching team will have learned a lot from the game as well. The fact remains that the aim of this season is to retain Prem 1 status, and very few would have predicted a 50%-win ratio after the first eight games.
 
Grangetown’s official player of the match was Alice Currie, although my vote went to Ria Small. For Oldham, Laura Malcolm was pure class, Maria McAndrew had a brilliant first half, and both shooters were superb. However, for her reading of the game and consistent ability to turnover possession, my choice for overall player of the match would be Kerry Almond.

Grangetown Netball Club won a thrilling encounter with Turnford in their round 7 Prem 1 clash; the fourth victory from their opening seven fixtures in the top flight of English club netball.
 
Turnford had travelled up from their Hertfordshire base with an identical record to Grangetown, the teams being separated only on goal average. The game also paired the two clubs who had been promoted from Prem 2 last season, and just as there was little to separate the teams on paper, so it proved out on court.
 
Grangetown were at full strength, with Gen Slater and Katie Walton having been on international duty for Ireland in last weekend’s friendly against Scotland A. Former Team Northumbria Super League players Ash Neal and Tuaine Keenan found themselves facing a former colleague, as Chiara Semple took her place in Turnford’s starting seven. Chiara will link up with Ash and Grangetown’s Brie Grierson for the 2019 Super League season, as all three are members of the recently-announced London Pulse squad.
 
Turnford were without England international George Fisher, and the injured Ellie Kelk, but they still fielded a talented squad including a number of England age group internationals and current Super League players. The starting line-ups were as follows:
 
     Tuaine Keenan     GK     Sarah Davis
Genevieve Slater     GD     Zara Everitt
            Vicky Rees    WD    Ellie Rattu
               Ria Small       C      Kat Whittall
       Brie Grierson     WA    Emily Gulvin
               Ash Neal     GA     Chiara Semple
    Abbie Le Brocq     GD     Nat Richardson
 
Grangetown edged the first quarter 14-12, although it was a tight fifteen minutes, with neither side able to gain a significant advantage. Grangetown started the better, but a 3-0 lead was quickly cancelled out by the visitors. Ash Neal then delivered a beautifully concealed pass to her shooting partner Abbie Le Brocq, who calmly found the net.
 
Great interplay between Brie Grierson and Abbie resulted in a clever feed to the onrushing Ash. The goal doubled the advantage, but a great read from Zara Everitt allowed Kat Whittall to collect the loose ball and with Chiara Semple looking assured in the circle, Turnford not only levelled proceedings, but took a two-goal lead of their own; the best piece of play involving Emily Gulvin, who moved right and passed left to leave Nat Richardson the easiest of chances, which was duly converted.
 
Ash and Brie then both showed great skill to feed Abbie for two quick goals. The first saw Ash collected the ball at pace and cleverly delay the looped pass until the defence had committed; then Brie faked a pass to Ash, which drew both Turnford defenders, leaving Abbie totally unmarked.
 
Nothing elaborate about the move that helped Grangetown retake the lead though, as Brie drilled a pass to her London Pulse team mate for Ash to find the net.
 
Tuaine Keenan’s excellent opening quarter was rounded off by a brilliant interception as a shot was being taken; but Grangetown were unable to take advantage. However, Ria Small linked up well with the attack to provide another opportunity, which Ash comfortably converted; and Abbie was on hand to finish off a brilliant passage of play to give the home side a two-goal lead on the hooter.
 
The second period began with yet another fine intervention from Tuaine, but again her efforts were not rewarded at the opposite end of the court. The teams traded early goals before Grangetown were fortuitously awarded an off-the-ball penalty just as they looked to have lost possession. Ash made no mistake and her next goal extended the advantage to four.
 
Ellie Rattu had already picked off one poor pass, then came close to intercepting a Grangetown centre pass as Turnford maintained strong defensive pressure; but a bad miss from under the post was the catalyst for a four-goal burst from Grangetown, which took the score to 25-17.
 
At the heart of the home defence, Tuaine and Gen Slater were working well together and claimed two crucial turnovers, but just as Grangetown looked to have gained the ascendancy, momentum suddenly swung back in favour of the visitors.
 
The introduction of the rather inappropriately-named Katarina Short had an immediate impact on the game, as the 6’5” shooter provided the perfect target for the Turnford attackers. The long-looped pass was very much in evidence, as Katarina’s goals began to eat into Grangetown’s lead. Great work from Ellie Rattu and Sarah Davis enabled the visitors to have enough possession to trail by just three goals at half time.
 
Interestingly however, despite Turnford’s late spell of dominance, Grangetown actually won the quarter by one goal. It had been an absorbing 30 minutes of high-quality netball and with the sides so evenly matched, the importance of the three-goal cushion couldn’t be underestimated.
 
Katie Walton replaced her Ireland team mate Gen Slater, with Tuaine moving to goal defence. There was a straight swap at goal shooter with Abbie making way from Alice Currie, for whom the game marked her home debut; and Claudia Heath came on at wing defence in place of Vicky Rees.
 
Whilst Grangetown’s Super League pairing of Ash and Brie often grab the headlines, the performances of Vicky and Ria in the middle of the court have been outstanding, and, after years of service to the club, both are arguably playing the best netball of their respective careers.
 
The break seemed to have a positive effect on Grangetown, as they scored the third quarter’s opening four goals – Katie and Alice both making an instant impact at opposite ends of the court.
 
However, yet another interception by Tuaine went frustratingly unrewarded as Turnford rallied with five unanswered goals of their own; but just as it looked like the margin would be down to a single goal, Turnford lost possession when the ball was deemed to have gone out of court. It looked a harsh call, but Grangetown quickly took advantage and with Alice and Ash both looking very composed in the circle, the home side quickly extended their advantage to seven.
 
The tactic of looping the ball into Katarina looked obvious, but when executed well, it was very hard to defend, and the visitors were finding it comparatively easy to convert from their centre passes. Likewise, Grangetown were cancelling out each Turnford goal, with Alice doing really well to flick the ball back to Ash when she was overbalancing and falling out of play.
 
It felt like it was a case of who would blink first and when a wayward Grangetown pass was collected by Emily Gulvin, that provided the spark for the visitors to seize the initiative, and by the end of another pulsating quarter in which 35 goals were scored, Turnford trailed by just two goals and the stage was set for an enthralling finale.
 
The pattern of much of the previous quarter continued as the two sides shared the first ten goals of the last quarter. Katie Walton completed an excellent turnover, which Ash converted to score against the Turnford centre pass, only for the visitors to immediately hit back from the Grangetown restart.
 
There were arguably two turning points: firstly, a whistle that looked likely to penalise Grangetown for a three-second violation was actually for an off-the-ball offence against the Turnford defence; and secondly, as the visitors battled to close the gap, a misplaced pass flew out of court to hand Grangetown a crucial turnover.
 
The home shooters took every chance that came their way, and hard as Turnford battled, Grangetown were relentless, and the final score was 62-53 in favour of last season’s Prem 2 champions.
 
Grangetown were superb, but if the winning margin suggests a comfortable victory, the reality is that Turnford provided a stern test, and the result was in doubt right until the final few minutes. The result was enough to lift Grangetown back into fourth position, with Viper 10 Blades loss to unbeaten Oldham (who visit Grangetown in round 8 on 2 December).
 
Abbie Le Brocq was the official Player of the Match, but my votes would have gone to Grangetown’s Tuaine Keenan for a fine performance at the heart of the defence, and Turnford wing attack Emily Gulvin.

After the opening four rounds of the Premier League Division 1 season, Grangetown Netball Club were in fifth position, having won their two most recent fixtures, at home to Premier Romans, and a fantastic victory away to Tameside, who had ended the 2017/18 campaign in fourth position.
 
Grangetown played host to Worcester Reds in round five; the Reds coming into the game on the back of a comfortable victory over Premier Romans. With both Grangetown and Worcester having lost to a strong Academy side by similar margins, everything pointed to a close encounter.
 
Worcester travelled with a squad of twelve players, whilst Grangetown Head Coach Gel Williams was able to hand a debut to former Team Northumbria Super League defender Tuaine Keenan. The starting sevens were as follows:
 
                                      Grangetown                     Worcester Reds
                                  Tuaine Keenan         GK        Chloe Burrow
                                     Jenny Mrozik         GD        Lois Brown
                                   Claudia Heath         WD        Ellie Trold
                                         icky Rees           C          Erin Allport
                                          Ria Small         WA         Kat Jones
                                           Ash Neal         GA         Lucy Herdman
                                 Abbie Le Brocq         GS         Philippa Yarranton
 
It was the visitors who made the brighter start, quickly cancelling out the game’s opening goal to take a 1-3 lead. Lucy Herdman’s commanding rebound was followed by good movement in the circle and a goal set up by a pass from her attacking partner Philippa Yarranton.
 
The visitors’ next attempt was missed and the rebound came back off the post and back into Grangetown’s hands. Lovely interplay between Ash Neal and Ria Small led to last season’s Team Northumbria captain turning down a shot to feed Abbie Le Brocq to score.
 
Ash and Vicky Rees then exchanged passes on the edge of the circle, before Ash found the net; and Abbie levelled the scores when a penalty was awarded against the Reds’ defence, despite Grangetown having lost possession of the ball outside the circle.
 
A neat flick out of the back of the hand by Ash led to the next goal, before great defensive pressure forced an error from the visitors, and the ensuing passage of play ended with Abbie claiming a great rebound and making no mistake with her shot.
 
Tuaine Keenan was penalised for contact after completing what looked a clean interception, but the debutante then did even better to block an attempted shot and her efforts were rewarded when Abbie netted again at the other end of the court.
 
8-5 quickly became 11-6 in Grangetown’s favour, with Ria’s bounce-pass into the circle giving Ash the chance to feint to shoot before netting once the defender had committed. The next two goals were shared, but a Chloe Burrow rebound gave the Reds the chance to narrow the margin.
 
Ash and Ria exchanged passes before a looped pass was well-taken by Abbie, who added another goal to her tally. Lucy and Philippa combined well to cancel out the goal, but great movement from Vicky and Ria found Abbie unmarked, and a quick turnover was also converted to further extend the lead; and the score after 15 minutes was 16-10 in Grangetown’s favour.
 
Brie Grierson was introduced for the second quarter, with Ria moving to centre. The Reds started the period with Erin Allport at wing attack, Danielle Jordan-Taft at wing defence, and Ellie Trold at centre.
 
An early turnover was converted by Lucy for the visitors, but Brie’s first involvement was a straightforward interception, followed by a pass that found Abbie unmarked under the net.
 
At the other end, excellent pressure from Jenny Mrozik forced a wayward shot; Tuaine gathered the loose ball and Ria’s almost casual looped pass was safely caught by Abbie to make it 19-11. The understanding between the attacking members of the Grangetown squad was very much in evidence, as was their collective confidence in the Abbie’s ability to take passes under pressure and also convert.
 
Lucy looked equally assured in the circle and she scored four of the game’s next five goals, the second of which came from a really good move involving Erin Allport. The five-goal gap was maintained as ten goals were shared, the pick being another effort from Lucy who made the most of a chance created by nice cross-court pass from Philippa and Erin’s quick feed back across the circle.
 
Intricate interplay from Grangetown was well defended by the Reds, but a replayed ball penalty handed possession straight back to the home side for a goal against a Worcester centre pass. A brilliant interception by Claudia Heath resulted in the ball being lost in the left-hand corner, but Worcester immediately turned over possession, and a great piece of skill from Brie, who moved to her right and fired an overarm pass to her left, allowed Abbie to score.
 
Ellie Trold’s excellent pass set up Philippa, before lightning-fast interplay between Ash and Brie ended with another goal from Abbie. There was time for one more Grangetown goal, after possession was secured by great defensive work by Tuaine, who forced an error, and Gen Slater, who collected the ball and set up the attack from which Abbie netted once again.
 
At 31-23, Grangetown had extended their lead, but Worcester were playing some excellent attacking netball and arguably deserved to have maintained, if not reduced the first-quarter gap.
 
Katie Walton was brought on at half-time, alongside her Ireland international defensive partner; and Katie made an immediate impact by getting a hand in the way of an attacking pass, but possession was wasted and Philippa’s high floated shot was successful. Ria and Brie both fed Abbie to score, before a brilliant passage of play saw Grangetown’s lead extend to twelve – firstly Claudia superbly claimed possession, before Brie’s sublime no-look pass was converted by Abbie.
 
Brie and Claudia then combined down the right side of the court; Brie’s bullet pass back to Claudia on the edge of the goal third was immediately returned; one pass later and Abbie made it 39-25.
 
Worcester were still producing some excellent play of their own, with Erin right at the heart of most of the Reds’ best moves. Her pass to Kat Jones and the subsequent feed to Philippa was one of the highlights of the period.
 
At times though, Grangetown were irresistible. So strong in defence, with quick transition down the court and, high conversion rates. One move between Brie and Ash was completed at almost walking pace, yet the movement of the ball was so fast; it was a joy to watch.
 
Georgia Willetts was brought on at goal keeper for the visitors and she made a n excellent interception, but Lucy’s shot fell short and Katie picked off the rebound as the hooter sounded.
 
There was a scrappy start to the final period, with both sides making a number of errors – perhaps not too much of a surprise given the pace and intensity of the first 45 minutes.
 
A great feed from Ash saw Abbie bring up the Grangetown half century. Brie then drew her defender and floated a simple pass for Abbie to score. Some superb defensive pressure from Grangetown was more than matched by even better movement from the Worcester attackers, and the subsequent goal made it 54-40 to Grangetown.
 
Erin was involved in much of the visitors’ best netball, but she was made to fight for every pass and every yard of space by Vicky, and the contest between the Grangetown captain and the Reds’ wing attack was a feature of the closing quarter.
 
As the game entered its closing minutes, Cathy Hewitt was brought on at wing attack, with Brie taking the goal attack bib, and Ash replacing Ria who had been so influential at centre. Brie scored with her first (and as it turned out only) shot, with Worcester completing the scoring.
 
Grangetown were 60-42 to the good at full-time – their third win in succession – but Worcester more than played their part in a hugely entertaining game. It is hard to pick a Player of the Match at the end of such a fine squad performance, but Brie Grierson was magnificent at wing attack. For Worcester, the pace, skill and energy of Erin Allport stood out, although Lucy Herdman also had a very strong game.
 
Here’s what Brie had to say after the match…
 
“This is my third year with the club and with each year, the squad has just kept improving. It’s great that we’ve kept so many of the players that took us up from Prem 3 and through Prem 2; and the new girls that have come to the club have fitted in so well.
 
“We’ve maybe had a bit of a slow start over the past couple of years, but we’re only five games into this season and the whole squad is already playing so well. It’s just great to be involved. I’m so thankful to Geraldine and the club. I really appreciate that she’s stood by me – I love Grangetown and wherever my career takes me, I hope I can keep playing here…
 
“Today’s win was great, but you would have not expected a team where they [Worcester] are in the league to have produced a performance like that. Every quarter was really tough and I’m honestly shocked they’re not higher up the league.”
 
The result lifted Grangetown one place to fourth … the fourth best club in the entire country. Great news to round off a fantastic day for everyone involved with Grangetown Netball Club.
 
Official Player of the Match: Ria Small
My Players of the Match: Brie Grierson (Grangetown), Erin Allport (Worcester)

Grangetown Netball Club recorded their first ever away win in National Prem 1 with an outstanding 50-44 victory against Tameside on Sunday.
 
To put the result into some sort of context, and to give some indication of how far this Grangetown squad has progressed, their last visit to Tameside was in 2015/16 (Tameside’s Prem 2 promotion season), when Grangetown were comprehensively beaten 70-29…
 
Tameside finished fourth in last season’s top division, and yesterday’s result not only consolidated Grangetown’s recent 74-28 success against Premier Romans, it gave the strongest indication yet that Vicky Rees and her squad are more than capable of being competitive in what is a high-quality league.
 
The depth of that squad was tested at Tameside as Grangetown were without Brie Grierson and Abbie LeBrocq; but despite losing the second and third quarters, Grangetown still had the strength, belief and ability to dominate the final period. The player of the match award was given to Alice Currie, who replaced Abbie at goal shooter and produced an outstanding performance on her Grangetown Prem 1 debut.
 
After four games, Grangetown currently lie fifth in the table, their two victories following defeats in the two opening rounds. It is interesting to note that those losses came against Academy and New Cambell, two of only three sides with a 100% record – the third being last season’s champions, Oldham.
 
The girls are back in action this Sunday, when they play host to Worcester Reds, who claimed their first win of the season with a 64-46 victory over Premier Romans over the weekend. The Reds have had a tough start to the campaign, losing heavily to Viper 10 Blades on the opening day and then having to face Oldham and Academy.
 
Academy and Premier Romans therefore provide some indication of the respective form of the sides that will clash this Sunday. The losses to Academy were by almost identical scorelines, but Grangetown’s 46-point winning margin over Bristol-based Romans was far more emphatic than the Reds. That said, the Romans may have been able to put out a stronger squad against Worcester, after being without a number of regular players for their trip to Teesside.
 
Everything therefore points to a fascinating encounter when elite women’s team sport returns to Grangetown Youth and Community Centre this Sunday. Can the home side make it three wins on the trot, or will Worcester’s greater experience at this level be enough to secure the points..?
 
Why not come along and find out? The game starts at 12:30, and admission is free!

The third round of fixtures in Mizuno Premier League division 1 paired newly-promoted Grangetown with Premier Romans.
 
The Bristol-based club travelled up to Middlesbrough having suffered defeats in their opening two Prem 1 games, and with Grangetown also looking for their first win of the season, the importance of the match was obvious. Both teams had already played a strong Academy side; Grangetown lost by 18 goals at home, and Romans were on the wrong end of a 21-goal away defeat, results which suggested a close encounter.
 
The starting sevens were as follows:
 
                        Katie Walton       GK      Chantelle Wopara
                 Genevieve Slater      GD       Hannah Payne
                           Vicky Rees      WD      Alice Galliene
                             Ria Small        C        Rebecca Reed
                      Brie Grierson       WA       Rebecca Green
                      Ashleigh Neal       GA       Morganne Dunn
                     Abbie LeBrocq       GS      Darcie Dunn
 
Grangetown got off to the perfect start, immediately turning over possession from the Romans’ centre pass. Abbie LeBrocq opened the scoring at the second attempt – the first of eight unanswered goals for the home side.
 
Katie Walton, Vicky Rees, and Ria Small all completed interceptions in those early minutes, and flowing passages of play through the court coupled with some great feeds into the circle presented the shooters with a string of opportunities.
 
The movement of Brie Grierson and Ash Neal caused the visiting defence plenty of problems, with the pick of those eight goals coming from a pass which Ash feinted one way and delivered the other – Abbie making no mistake from under the net.
 
Darcie Dunn finally got the Romans’ on the scoreboard, but with the visitors having to reshuffle their squad following the temporary loss of Chantelle Wopara, Grangetown continued to dominate and scored the next seven goals.
 
Gen Slater’s brilliant interception was followed by an equally impressive pass to Ash down the Grangetown left; the ball was knocked out of play, but Abbie scored from the subsequent restart.
 
Romans’ centre Rebecca Reed drilled a lovely pass into the circle and Darcie converted what had been the visitor’s best move of the quarter, but the next three goals showcased the range of skills that Ash possesses – a step and feed to Abbie, a long-range shot following a touch to a Romans’ pass that led to a turnover, and sublime link-up play with Brie … all within the space of a couple of minutes.
 
The hooter sounded with Ria feeding Abbie to make it 23-3 – an outstanding quarter from all seven Grangetown players. For their part, Romans produced some fine approach play, but suffered from a number of misplaced passes and a few too many errors.
 
The pattern continued into the second period, but this time Grangetown scored eleven goals without reply. Ash declined a shooting chance to feed her partner. Abbie netted and within seconds the tall shooter had further extended Grangetown’s lead.
 
A promising move down the Romans’ left ended when Katie showed great anticipation to claim another interception, Ash converting the subsequent scoring chance. Another composed finish from last season’s Team Northumbria skipper took Grangetown to 30, before an unlucky held ball call against the visitors handed possession back to the hosts.
 
It had been a breathtaking display of defensive pressure and attacking flair from Grangetown, but it was Premier Romans who scored three of the next four goals; the second coming after an outstanding catch in the corner of the court by Rebecca Reed, who followed up by creating another chance which was converted after a scrappy exchange in the Grangetown circle.
 
Hayley Bunt, on at wing attack for the visitors fired a fine pass for another Romans’ score, but their next attack saw Katie Walton hold onto an overthrown shot and in the blink of an eye the ball was down the other end of the court and Abbie had scored once again.
 
At half-time, Grangetown held a 42-8 lead. As a contest the game was over, but despite making a couple of changes, it was important for the home side to maintain the same level of focus for the final two quarters.
 
Jenny Mrozik and Hannah Raine came on for Grangetown at goal defence and centre respectively – Jenny’s first contribution was an interception that resulted in Abbie further extending the lead.
 
Brie was penalised for contact when she looked to have completed an athletic interception, and Romans took full advantage during a spell of six shared goals. Abbie then brought up the Grangetown half century, and although the visitors were converting more opportunities, it seemed that whenever they scored, Grangetown cancelled out the goal within a matter of seconds.
 
The confidence that was flowing through the side was typified by Brie and Ash, whose understanding, movement and skill were wonderful to watch. More intricate interplay led to another goal for Abbie. Vicky got a touch to the restart, with Grangetown quickly turning over possession for Ash to float another shot straight through the hoop.
 
Jenny needed all her height to pluck a Romans’ pass out of the air, but equally good work from Chantelle regained possession and Darcie’s goal brought the third quarter to a close – Grangetown now leading 61-17.
 
One of the five changes made by Grangetown saw Catherine Hewitt given an opportunity to get fifteen valuable minutes of court time. The final quarter was a much closer affair, with only two goals separating the sides. That may have been due in part to Grangetown losing a bit of intensity, but it also says a lot for the will and determination of the Romans’ players to keep battling despite being on the wrong end of such a heavy defeat.
 
The final score was 74-28, a memorable performance and a fantastic way for Grangetown to record their first ever victory at this level. Shortly after the end of the game, Gen Slater, one half of Grangetown and Ireland’s defensive combination had this to say.
 
“I think we played very well today, but there are still some areas we definitely need to work on. I do think we’re starting to produce more good plays with fewer bad ones, which is really positive, but we got a little bit complacent – we were up by quite a lot – so we tried a few different things and forced it a little bit more than we normally would.
 
“I thought we were good for maybe twelve minutes in each quarter, but that still leaves three minutes where we need to pick things up. We stopped running towards the ball, got a bit lazy; and when you are playing in a tougher competition that’s when you’re going to get intercepted…
 
“There were some amazing passages of play though. I just love being able to watch our attack – Brie and Ash just work so well together - and obviously Abbie and Ria too."
 
And to concede just eight goals in half an hour?
 
“It’s pretty good isn’t it? Some of us defenders are getting quite old too! I thought our goal defence was amazing though – did you see her for three quarters? Unreal...!!”
 
From the Romans camp, former England international and multiple Super League winner Clare Elsley was philosophical, but equally positive about the future.
 
“We were hoping to come here and take the win and the points, so obviously it’s huge for us to have lost by that amount. We’ve got a lot of things to work on, but it’s still only round three, so the season is far from over. We’ll learn from today. I’m sure you’ll encounter a different team in the return fixture, and it should be a much better game.
 
“We’ve got girls involved with the Welsh squad, our Super League players were at Fast 5s yesterday; and with the lack of players travelling up, we hadn’t really played in this combination before. We lost a player to injury and then we were down to seven, which left us with little in the way of options.
 
“That said, it’s the same for every team, there are no excuses, and Grangetown were simply better on the day.”

Official Player of the Match
Ash Neal

My Players of the Match
Ash Neal (Grangetown) and Rebecca Reed (Romans)​

​Grangetown Netball Club played their first ever game in the top division of English club netball as they hosted the Middlesex-based Academy at Grangetown Youth and Community Centre this afternoon.
 
For Head Coach Gel Williams and those who have worked tirelessly both on and off the court for so many years, it was the realisation of a dream; but in many respects this is where the hard work really begins as Grangetown seeks to establish itself amongst the top-ten clubs in the country.
 
Academy travelled north having finished a more than creditable fifth in Prem 1 last season, and would clearly pose a huge challenge to a Grangetown squad that featured a number of additions to the group that lifted the Prem 2 championship earlier this year.
 
The Ireland international duo of Katie Walton and Gen Slater started at goal keeper and goal defence. Club captain Vicky Rees and her vice-captain Ria Small filled the wing defence and centre positions. Ash Neal, so influential during the promotion campaign, was at wing attack and the attacking partnership comprised last season’s regular goal shooter Abbie LeBrocq alongside Brie Grierson, who played for Grangetown back in 2016/17 and was a member of the Loughborough Lightning 2017/18 Super League squad.
 
On the bench were defender Jenny Mrozik, teenage shooter Catherine Hewitt, and two new acquisitions; Claudia Heath, who has had Super League experience with both the former Leeds and Northumbria franchises, and Nicole Malloy, who has played in Prem 1 with both Tameside and Oaksway.
 
The visitor started as follows: GK: Halimat Adio, GD: Vicki Oyesola, WD: Danielle McFarlane, C: Celyn Emanuel, WA: Phoebe Cadogan, GA: Cara Hodgkinson, GS: Rochelle Powell
 
Brie Grierson scored the game’s opening goal with a long shot from the right-hand side of the circle, but Academy quickly established a lead with an unbroken sequence of five goals. Leading 1-2, Celyn Emmanuel’s high pass into the circle was tipped out of play by Katie Walton, but Rochelle Powell netted from the restart. Grangetown missed two shots on their next attack, and Celyn then produced some neat interplay with Cara Hodgkinson and the goal attack duly extended the lead.
 
A high feed into Rochelle was safely collected and an excellent long-looping shot made it 1-5. A similar pass from Brie to Abbie LeBrocq wasn’t converted, but an excellent interception by Vicky Rees and some great handling by Brie resulted in a Grangetown goal.
 
Abbie netted twice to further reduce the arrears, the second goal coming after Katie had made a superb interception. Rochelle then scored for Academy following a well-gathered rebound, and more misses from the home shooters allowed the visitors to extend their lead once again.
 
A bounce pass by Ash Neal to Ria Small led to a chance for Abbie. The shot was missed, but possession was immediately recovered. Brie moved well to create some space; Ash delivered a perfect pass and Brie converted. Unfortunately, a misunderstanding between the Grangetown attackers resulted in another missed opportunity and Academy quickly took advantage.
 
Grangetown squandered possession as a misplaced pass bounced out of play, but Katie’s interception reclaimed the ball. Ria found Abbie totally unmarked and the home shooter made no mistake.
 
Brie scored the next two goals - the second following Grangetown’s best passage of play in the opening period – to level proceedings at 8-8, but a brilliant running interception and one-handed pass by Celyn led to the goal that separated the sides as the hooter sounded.
 
In what was quite a physical quarter, Grangetown has been guilty of too many errors, but there looked to be signs that the squad was starting to settle into the pace of the game.
 
Sadly, despite the promise Grangetown had shown in those closing minutes, Academy completely controlled the second quarter and won the period 7-21, to take a commanding 15-30 lead into the break.
 
After a series of turnovers, Phoebe Cadogan fed Rochelle to score a valuable goal against the Grangetown centre pass. The break was quickly consolidated, and when the home side lost possession from the ensuing centre pass, the Academy attack again made Grangetown pay for the error.
 
Abbie turned down a shooting chance, choosing to pass to Ash, who in turn fed Brie to get Grangetown back on the scoresheet. A long-range effort from Rochelle made it 9-14; the five-goal lead quickly becoming seven as Academy benefited from a three-second call against Grangetown, followed by a footwork penalty from the hosts’ next possession.
 
Long-looping feeds into Rochelle were proving a profitable tactic for Academy; the precision of the passing, coupled with the strength and accuracy of the shooter were posing plenty of problems for the Grangetown defence and soon after, Jenny Mrozik was brought on to replace Katie Walton.
 
More changes followed, with Claudia Heath and Nicole Mallow both coming on for their Grangetown debut. Nicole and Ash produced some neat interplay for last season’s Team Northumbria captain to score, but four more unanswered Academy goals further extended the visitors’ advantage.
 
Halimat Adio, Vicki Oyesola and Danielle McFarlane were proving to be a tough, uncompromising defensive unit, and Ash was moved to shooter in an attempt to try and regain a foothold in the game. Grangetown were unlucky when Ria’s pass saw Ash sandwiched between the two defenders, but no foul was called and Academy’s quick and precise transition led to another goal.
 
Nicole was even more unfortunate to be penalised for a replayed ball, after similar-looking incidents had been ignored. Academy found the net from the resulting possession and a fine long shot from Cara completed the first-half scoring.
 
Academy shuffled their pack at half time with a couple of positional swaps and Razia Quashie and Sophie Nicholas being introduced at goal keeper and wing attack respectively. Likewise, Grangetown swapped things around, with Abbie returning at goal shooter, Ash moving to goal attack and Brie to wing attack.
 
The opening six goals of the quarter were shared. Grangetown’s approach play looked to have quickened, but the shooting was still inconsistent and Academy were far more clinical under the net, with Rochelle finishing off a lovely move down the left-hand side of the court involving Sophie and Cara.
 
Cara then got on the scoresheet herself with a goal against the centre pass, and although Ash cancelled out the score, Academy netted again after Claudia was harshly penalised following what looked an excellent interception.
 
An Academy touch out of play was missed by both umpires and the award of possession to the visitors was met with a mixture of dismay and amusement from the Grangetown players. Academy responded by moving the ball down court and Cara netted with a shot that rolled round the ring, but dropped to make the score 22-38.
 
An excellent pass into the circle bisected the Grangetown defenders and Rochelle continued her excellent form with another good finish. Ash then drilled a pass to Abbie and the shooter scored at the second attempt as the quarter ended just as it had started, with six shared goals as Academy took a 26-44 lead into the final period.
 
Vicky and Ash exchanged passes for the Australian to score at the start of the last period, and lovely skill from Brie set up Abbie to find the net. A rare miss from Rochelle followed, but after a flurry of penalties, Academy finally scored at the third attempt.
 
Sophie produced a fantastic aerial interception to set up another Academy attack, and two more goals brought up the half century for the visitors. An intelligent pass from Brie found Abbie in space and the shooter looked to be growing in confidence as she found the net. Cara then did really well to run round and gather a loose bouncing ball inside the Grangetown circle. Another feed to Rochelle … another goal.
 
To Grangetown’s credit, they now began to play their best netball of the entire game; a sure sign that the squad will lack nothing in fitness and determination during the season. Long shots from Ash and Abbie were followed by what looked a great interception from Claudia, yet again however, another shrill blast on the whistle denied Grangetown the chance to maintain their momentum.
 
At 38-58, Ash showed amazing reactions to take a clean catch right in front of her face to turnover possession. Abbie’s subsequent goal was her final contribution, as the teenager Catherine Hewitt was brought on for her first taste of Prem 1 netball.
 
The game ended with two great goals involving Brie and Ash – surely the combination between the pair will be an important factor throughout the season.
 
The hooter sounded to bring proceedings to an end, with Academy deservedly running out winners 42-60. Grangetown could have no complaints about the result, but their efforts in the opening, third and final quarters were undone by a second period which was totally dominated by the visitors. Vicki Oyesola and Halimat Adio were particularly influential, especially during that all-important second quarter, but Rochelle Powell’s shooting accuracy allowed Academy to play with real confidence and freedom, and she would be my choice as player of the match.
 
After the game, I spoke with Vicki Oyesola and Vicky Rees and this is what they had to say; firstly, from the victor’s perspective: “I think it was a really good performance from the team. We didn’t have the strongest start, but we were able to make changes at the right time and we did well for the rest of the game.
 
“The squad was slightly depleted today, but the players that we had really stepped up to the plate and we managed to get the right result.
 
“It’s a tough league and there’s such strong competition, but I’m confident we’ll have a good season. This is our longest away trip and it’s good to have been able to come up here, play well, and get that first win.”
 
And now the Grangetown captain: “Obviously we’re not happy with the second quarter – I think we lost it by something like fourteen goals – but I thought we competed well for the other three quarters.
 
“I don’t think we can be disappointed overall; we just let ourselves down in that second period. Having said that it’s great to be able to try new combinations; we’re just trying to get used to the pace and flow of Prem 1 netball; and I think there were some positive signs, especially in that final quarter.
 
“To be able to play our best stuff when we’re exhausted and our concentration’s going is really encouraging; and given this was our first game at this level, I don’t think anyone looked out of place and that’s a really good place for us to be.