WORCESTERSHIRE 1sts 40

SOUTH STAFFS 52

WORCESTERSHIRE went into this game looking for a morale boosting victory to go someway to releasing the pressure before they play their last game in April.

The first quarter proved to be extremely tight with South Staffs taking an early lead.

After the openig exchanges Worcestershire got their game together and started to catch up.

This they did, so successfully that by the end of the first quarter they had gone into a two goal lead.

The second quarter went much the same way as the first in the early stages with South staffs scoring goals without reply and wiping out the home sides lead.

Worcestershire's defence was resolute and in particular Dawn Burford who made timely interceptions to deny South Staffs shooting opportunities and thus set up her own attack.

Worcestershire then got back into the game to reduce the deficit by two at half time.

The third quarter was likely to be the one that decided the course of this match, as in previous games Worcestershire had been well in the game at half time but fell away in the second half.

At the start of the third quarter South Staffs brought on their ex-England shooter Joan Bryan and she proved to be their lucky talisman.

It was her accuracy in the shooting circle that was to eventually prove Worcestershire's downfall.

Accurate shooting helped South Staffs to further increase their lead and by the end of the third quarter they had extended their lead to nine.

In the final quarter Worcestershire scored four goals without reply to reduce the deficit to six and thus give themselves a fighting chance of a victory. Unfortunately this proved to be a false dawn as South Staffs came right back and scored five goals in succession themselves to restore their cushion.

This finally knocked the stuffing out of the home side and South Staffs went on to win 52-40.

Worcestershire have one game left against Hampshire North on April 5.

Both sides need a win to remain in Division Two so it should be a very competitive match.

WORCS UNDER 18s 39

SOUTH STAFFS 26

The under 18s put in a well drilled performance to beat South Staffs in this match.

After finishing the first quarter all square at 6-6 Worcestershire took the initiative and quickly started to build a lead. By half time Worcestershire had built a 5 goal cushion to lead 17-12.

The final two quarters followed a similar pattern with Worcestershire outscoring their opponents by nearly two to one to finally win 39-26

Other results: 2nds Worcestershire 29 South Staffs 32

U16's Worcestershire 39 South Staffs 30.