8:47am Wednesday 8th October 2008
By Caroline Marshall
THE long anticipated match between the South & West Dorset Division One leaders Belle Construction and Waterside took place this week with a surprising outcome.
Predicted to be a close fought match, in reality escalated into Belle trouncing a rather deflated Waterside 34-19.
Waterside's excellent defensive pairing of Nicola Marsh and Jenny Coron worked tirelessly to stem the flow into Belle's shooting circle but could do little to halt the accurate shooting of Kelly Browne and Gill Newton.
The half-time score of 20-10 to Belle reflected the imaginative and skilful court play of Tanya Eagleton, Charlie Naerger and Jane Teversham.
The court linkage between the Belle trio complemented the outstanding work of Clare Stenhouse and Louise Bugler to close down Waterside's attacking opportunities.
Despite the attacking force of Sue Stevens and Amy Hunter, Waterside failed to dent Belle's impressive lead and left the court dejected by their first defeat of the season.
Also in the top-flight, Wakeleys enjoyed their first win of the season against Riviera.
Despite a close start, with Riviera's Claire Butler and Rachel Scarff netting some impressive shots and at the other end Ali Holmes and Olivia May making easy work of feeds into the shooting circle, neither team could excel and the score remained close throughout.
Chrissie Jackson and Kate Goyder stepped up their defensive assault in the final quarter and made it difficult for Riviera to find space in their shooting circle, enabling a quick turnover of ball to their attacking players.
Despite the continued efforts of Louise Neblett and Caroline Marshall in defence, Riviera just could not find the edge and lost to a determined Wakeleys.
The other Division One match saw Casy Comets also claim their first victory of the new season with a closely fought 26-21 win over Jago Bruford.
Early in the game Jago struggled to feed the ball to their shooters but when space was found Jenny Tait and Lydia Brentnall rarely missed the net.
Shelley Stevens displayed strong midcourt play for Casy Comets with effortless feeds to her shooters despite the determination of the Jago defence.
However, it was the inspired shooting of Emma Wakely that gave her side the lead in the third quarter and eventually sealed their win.
n The South West Dorset League 30th Anniversary Ball is taking place at the Riviera Hotel, Bowleaze on Saturday, October 25.
The committee is very keen to include ex-committee members and past league players to the celebrations.
If you have had any connection with the league and would like to attend then contact Kelly Browne on 01306 760644 for details.
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