COASTAL CHEESE 19

THE VETERANS HUB 40

THE Veterans Hub overcame Coastal Cheese 40-19 to earn their second South & West Dorset League victory of the summer season.

A strong start from both teams ensued with equal levels of attack and defence.

Veterans’ C Abbie Tinsley and WA Alice Whitley facilitated quick movement down the court and into the circle, while Coastal’s GK Rachel Boyd made great rebounds. The scores were level at end of the first quarter.

Changes were made at quarter time for both teams but Veterans’ paid off as they used short, direct passing to pull ahead.

In the third quarter, Coastal made a few mistakes, which Veterans were able to capitalise on and continued to push out their lead. There was great defence from both teams with some fantastic interceptions.

READ MORE: South & West Dorset League - Week five round-up

Coastal made tactical changes for the final quarter, with Wendy Doyle re-entering the game and having a calming influence in attack but Veterans continued to extend their lead to take victory.

CORFE CRUSADERS 36

WARMER HOME IMPROVEMENTS A 34

CORFE Crusaders held off a Warmer Home Improvements A fightback to seal a narrow 36-34 victory in the Premier Division.

Corfe got off to a strong start, continuously capitalising on errors from Warmer’s attack thanks to polished movement and shooting from GS Rhiannon Carter.

Warmer GD Becky Hallet stepped up to the challenge and came up with clean interceptions, helping Warmer close the gap to just three goals at quarter time.

Play across the midcourt stepped up in intensity in the second quarter, especially from Warmer’s Lara Rose and Corfe’s Nicky Marsh.

Meanwhile, Warmer’s shooters struggled under the pressure from Corfe’s defenders.

Corfe started the third quarter with quick passes and applied lots of pressure, however Warmer retaliated and stepped their game up to once again close to within three goals.

With everything to play for in the final quarter, Corfe unfortunately had to make changes after an injury.

This disrupted their flow and allowed Warmer to level. Corfe, however, showed great resilience to come back and pull through for a two-goal win.

EXE TRAINING 35

PORTLAND PIRATES 31

EXE Training took a slender 35-31 triumph over Portland Pirates in this tense Division One battle.

Pressure from both teams made for a very competitive start between the newly-promoted sides.

Exe’s GK Becky Hurford defended well and kept Portland’s shooters away from the post.

This resulted in lots of interceptions from Exe, although Portland kept themselves in the game with accurate, strong passes.

Portland’s GK Amy Dummer applied lots of defensive pressure in the second quarter, making life difficult for Exe’s shooters. However, some good interceptions from Exe kept them up by two goals at half-time.

Both defences worked tirelessly throughout the second half, with Exe’s defence continuing to deny space and Portland reacting well to loose balls and mistakes from their opposition.

The pace intensified into the final quarter, with both teams clearly wanting to win this close, competitive game. There was great movement from Portland’s Candice Barton, who had come on to GS at quarter time.

Despite almost levelling the scores, Portland faded slightly in the final few minutes of the game, allowing Exe to take a four-goal win.

WARMER HOME IMPROVEMENTS B 35

ZEST 20

WARMER Home Improvements B beat an improving Zest side 35-20 in Division Two.

During a closely-fought first quarter, both teams worked hard in midcourt and moved the ball well into attack. Warmer’s C Chloe Groves in particular displayed confidence in her performance and dictated play for her team.

Zest were forced to make a substitution early in the second quarter due to an injury, and Warmer were then able to capitalise and take the lead thanks to strong shooting from their GS Amy Hallet, even under the pressure from Zest’s defence.

Both teams continued to apply pressure, making great interceptions in the third quarter. For Warmer, these came from GD Sarah Bryant, who read play well and used her speed to win the ball back.

After more forced team changes in the final quarter for Zest thanks to another injury, they continued to show great team spirit but Warmer’s consistency allowed them to take the game.