Celtic Dragons vs Brunel Hurricanes
Saturday 7 April 2007
Welsh Institute of Sport, Cardiff

HURRICANES BLOW OUT DRAGONS FIRE

Following their hard fought but important victory over Leeds Met Carnegie on Monday the Celtic Dragons hoped that they would be able to continue their winning form against the Brunel Hurricanes. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be as the Hurricanes ran out 51-29 winners.

The match played at the Welsh Institute of Sport started encouragingly as the Dragons’ close marking and centre court zone lead to several turnovers. After 5 minutes the Dragons were 6-2 ahead. Like many of the teams in the Superleague, the Hurricanes have been experiencing injury problems but the team they put on court was still one of quality. As the game started, the Dragons defence of Bianca Modeste at GK and Emma Bliss at GD was able to contain the Hurricanes shooter and intercept a number of high balls. The turnovers were quickly moved down court by the centre court combination of Clare Elsley at WD, Sophie Baxter at C and Anna Mayes at WA and converted by the shooting combination of Ffion Berry at GA and Jamilla Abbott at GS. Both shooters had their work cut out against two of England’s very assertive and skilled defenders namely Naida Hutchinson at GK and Sonia Mkolomo at GD but Berry’s speed often left her opponent standing and Abbott’s strong holding created problems for both defenders.

As the first quarter progressed, the Hurricanes’ centre court began to find their athletic shooter with greater accuracy and ease. The Dragons found the net with less frequency and as the quarter came to an end the Hurricanes were 11-7 ahead.

A number of team changes by the Hurricanes seemed to have immediate effect as their centre court became more dominant. The Dragons found it more difficult to penetrate the centre third and as a consequence the number of shooting opportunities dropped dramatically. The Hurricanes continued to get the ball to the edge of their attacking circle and fed their shooter accurately. As the feeds became more telling the shooter grew in confidence and started to put the ball away from all over the circle. The half time score was 25-12 in the Hurricanes favour.

Celtic Dragons coach Jess Garland introduced Shenaide Blucher at GS at the start of the 3rd quarter and her accuracy began to reap dividends. Despite tight marking from Hutchinson and Mkolomo Blucher was able to use her high trajectory shooting to get over the long arms of the defence. Spurred on the Dragons took a number of interceptions in the centre court and reasserted themselves. Elsley, at WD, enthralled the crowd by taking a number of flying turnovers in her normal style. Not to be outdone both Bliss and Modeste did the same. Although it was a much better performance by the Dragons the Hurricanes still won the quarter 14-11 and extended their lead to 39-23.

Garland again made changes for the final quarter introducing Abbott at GK in the hope that her extra height would be able to disrupt the feed to the Hurricanes shooter. Modeste moved to GD and Baxter and Mayes traded positions in attack. Although the quarter started well with the Dragons scoring 3 of the first 4 goals the Hurricanes were able to exert their control on the match and ran out 51-29 winners. The score line was better than the same fixture earlier in the season and illustrates the progress that the Celtic Dragons are making.

Team:

Leeds Met vs Celtic Dragons
Monday 2 April 2007
EIS, Sheffield

CELTIC DRAGONS ROAR!

The Celtic Dragons Netball Superleague team travelled North on Monday
2 April for a must win match against Leeds Met Carnegie. The two teams occupy the bottom places in the NSL and so this was a crucial game. The Dragons’ preparation was not ideal as they were delayed for several hours on the M1 as a result of a fatal accident but this did not seem to affect them too much as they ran out 42-36 winners.

The match started late as a result of the travel delays, but both teams took to the court determined to take the vital two points on offer. The Dragons started with an interception off Leeds’ first centre which was calmly put away by Chrissie Munro at Goal Shooter. The defensive trio of Bianca Modeste at GK, Emma Bliss at GD and Clare Elsley at WD put pressure on the Leeds attack and created several interceptions. Emma Bliss in particular marked England International Alex Kirk very tightly often preventing the Leeds GA entering the circle. This put additional pressure on the tall Leeds GS who was being cleverly marshalled by Bianca Modeste.

Defensive turnovers were taken to the Dragons shooting circle as a result of quick inter play between Susie Drane at C, Anna Mayes at WA and Ffion Berry at GA. Berry and GS Chrissie Munro also combined well and this enabled the Dragons to go in at quarter time with a slim 12 -9 lead.

Coach Jess Garland introduced Sophie Baxter at WA for the second quarter moving Anna Mayes to C. The defences of both teams worked hard throughout the second quarter resulting in numerous turnovers with the ball regularly travelling from end to end without goals being scored. Leeds started to peg back the Dragons’ lead taking the lead themselves for the first time in the game with only 2 minutes remaining on the clock. Not to be out done Ffion Berry sank a penalty shot after the whistle for half time to give the Dragons a slender one goal lead 18-17.

Coach Garland made further changes at half time introducing Welsh International Jamilla Abbott at GS. Abbott’s linkage with Berry at GA created more space in the shooting circle and with it more shooting opportunities. The centre court had also been changed with Drane taking to the court at WD, Baxter taking over to C and Mayes returning to WA. Five minutes into the quarter telling defensive pressure lead to more turnovers and the Dragons went on an unanswered 5 goal run. This extended their lead to 29-24. A late rally by Leeds meant that the quarter ended 31-27 in Dragons’ favour with all to play for in the final 15 minutes.

As anticipated the game was destined to go to the wire. The Dragons came out fighting at the start of the final quarter and put even more pressure on the Leeds centre court. Turnovers were transferred to goal and after 9 minutes of the quarter Dragons had extended their lead to 8 goals and the crowd began to sense a Welsh victory. Leeds however had other ideas. They too put extra pressure on the Dragons centre court, which lead to increased possession. An injury “time out” lead to Sophie Baxter leaving the court to be replaced by Elsley. Coach Garland changed the centre court positions as a result of this and Leeds seemed to be capitalising on it as they reduced the deficit to 5 goals.

Once again Abbott steadied the ship and sunk a long range shot to almost finish off Leeds. Berry at GA did the same and a 6 goal lead was re-established. Both teams exchanged goals in the last 2 minutes but the Dragons had already done enough and finished 42-36 winners.

Match commentator Anita Navin awarded Anna Mayes the Player of the match for her speed and control. The Dragons made their weary way home pleased with a victory and hopeful that their winning ways would continue. This will be tested by Brunel Hurricanes, presently lying third in the table, who visit Cardiff on Saturday 7 April.

Team:

Subs not used Carrington Blucher Blanks

Shooting Munro 12/21 57%
Abbott 12/19 63%
Berry 18/33 56%
Team 42/73 58%

Loughborough Lightning vs Celtic Dragons
Saturday 10 February 2007
Loughborough University

DRAGONS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING

The Celtic dragons travelled North again for their second match in 6 days in the Netball SuperLeague taking on Loughborough Lightning. The heavy snow that had affected many areas did not prevent the game going ahead as planned. Despite the loss of players Clare Elsley, Sara Hale and Cara Moseley to long term injury and illness the Dragons took to the court with a degree of confidence following their match against Team Northumbria earlier in the week.

The match was never going to be an easy one as Loughborough had a squad containing several internationals and ex internationals. This included Wales’ own Becky James who has played for Loughborough since the league began.

Dragons coach Jess Garland had been working hard with the Dragons to utilise possession more effectively and this was evident in the first quarter. The centre court of Suzie Drane (WD), Sophie Baxter (C) and Anna Mayes (WA) distributed the ball well and fed the shooters accurately. Jamilla Abbott at Goal Shooter held space against a strong and agile defence including England’s Ama Agbeze and combined well with Ffion Berry at Goal Attack. The score was even for the first 7 minutes and then the Loughborough team found their ex England Goal Shooter Alex Astle with ease using her height to advantage. Loughborough pulled away to a 7 goal lead. As the quarter progressed the Dragons defence of Bianca Modeste (GK) and Sian Carrington (GD) held strong denying the Loughborough shooters space and claiming some turnovers. The Dragons finished with a flourish ending the quarter 16-12 down.

For the second quarter coach Garland introduced Emma Bliss at Goal Defence and changed Mayes and Baxter at Centre and Wing Attack hoping the changes would add another dimension to the Dragons play. Loughborough also made some team changes juggling their centre court and this seemed to balance out the Dragon’s changes. The Dragons continued to mark tightly and stop the Loughborough attack moving through the court. As a result Loughborough used the long high ball to Astle more frequently. At 6’4” Astle is the tallest shooter in the league and not easy to mark. Modeste took some interceptions but could not stop Astle scoring once in possession of the ball. At the other end, the athletic circle defence of Loughborough Lightning intercepted anything that was not flat and took some valuable turnovers which were invariably converted. Ffion Berry continued to attack the Loughborough defence circle and was rewarded with several shots from underneath the net.

The Dragons lost the second quarter 13-6 trailing 29-18 at half time. Anna Joll was introduced at Goal Attack for the 3rd quarter with the hope that her speed would create more space in the attacking circle. The Dragons continued to mark Loughborough tightly and were rewarded with more turnovers which were generally converted to goal. With the umpires penalising deliberate infringements of the rules by awarding penalties, the game slowed a little which seemed to suit the Dragons and they generated more opportunities to score. A change to the Loughborough Goal Keeper allowed Abbott at Goal Shooter to move around the circle more effectively and she took advantage of the space. Baxter and Mayes had again changed position at Half Time and their speed allowed them to get closer to the circle edge to feed the Dragons shooters. Loughborough won the quarter 14-9 and took a 43-27 three quarter lead overall.

Loughborough changed their shooter and Becky James was introduced to the game. An interesting tussle ensued between her and her Wales team mates. Sophie Baxter was substituted following a nasty fall near the end of the 3rd quarter. Susie Drane moved up to Centre with Sian Carrington coming on at Wing Defence. Ffion Berry returned to court at Goal Attack and picked up where she left off. Both teams scored steadily with turnovers being converted on the majority of occasions. Despite Berry having a near perfect average for the quarter, Loughborough won it 15-11 and took the match 58-38.

In all this was another encouraging performance and bettered the results against the same team last season. The Netball SuperLeague takes a break next weekend because of the European Championships. The Celtic Dragons return to action on Friday 23 rd February at the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff with a match against Mavericks. The match starts at 7.30pm and a big crowd would be a bonus offering the support that the Dragons benefited from when playing Leeds Met before Christmas. Tickets are on sale now from the Welsh Netball office on 02920 237 048.

Team:

Team Northumbria vs Celtic Dragons
Monday 5 February 2007
Gateshead Leisure Centre

TEAM NORTHUMBRIA DOUSE DRAGONS SECOND HALF FIRE

Following a seven week break to take in Christmas and England’s Test Matches against South Africa the Netball SuperLeague started again over the weekend of the 2nd-5th February 2007.

The Celtic Dragons’ first match of the New Year was against Team Northumbria at the Gateshead Leisure Centre. Team Northumbria sat just above the Dragons in the table with one point more than their Welsh counterparts so the match promised to be a tight one. The match was played in front of a full house as well as the television cameras with the vocal crowd making a real difference to the home team.

Despite the long break the Dragons had continued training on a weekly basis and following a very successful tour to the Midlands in January, confidence in the squad was high. The match started at a blistering pace with both teams moving the ball quickly down court and finding shooters that were in good form. The scores stayed even for the first 6 minutes. As both teams found their feet the Dragons found it more difficult to feed their shooting circle. The tight man on man marking by Team Northumbria didn’t allow the Dragons centre court combination of Elsley (Wing Defence), Drane (Centre) and Mayes (Wing Attack) any space. The Northumbria team contains 3 players from New Zealand with two of them working together in the defence circle. Their stand off defence caught the Dragons out on several occasions and with their Scotland Goal Shooter and Kiwi Goal Attack scoring consistently the first quarter started to go away from the Dragons. Suddenly the ball was not finding its way to Abbott (Goal Shooter) and Berry (Goal Attack) despite the Dragons defence of Modeste and Carrington forcing some passing errors from Team Northumbria and taking some interceptions. At the end of the first 15 minutes Dragons found themselves 14-6 down.

For the second quarter Elsley and Drane changed positions hoping this would break down the Northumbria attack. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be and Team Northumbria extended their lead by taking the second quarter 13-8. They lead 7-14 at half time.

As that old football adage goes games are often made up of two halves and this was exactly the case in Gateshead. Dragons’ coach Jess Garland introduced Sophie Baxter at Wing Attack and Anna Joll at Goal Attack for the third quarter and asked the team to focus on their job and not worry about what Team Northumbria were doing. Converting possession and patience were the order of the day and the Dragons followed instructions from the first minute of the third quarter. Suddenly more space was found and created and Northumbria were hassled whilst on the ball. As a consequence Dragons took greater possession and forced more mistakes and then converted the subsequent turnovers. The Northumbria crowd suddenly became less vocal as the Dragons pulled themselves back into contention. At the end of the third quarter the score was 34-25 to Northumbria, Dragons having won the quarter 11-7.

The same Dragons team took to the court for the final quarter looking very determined. They carried on where they left off and continued to force mistakes from Team Northumbria. With 5 minutes remaining Dragons were only 5 goals behind and in possession. Had they scored, the next centre pass was theirs so the gap could have been closed even more. Unfortunately that wasn’t to be and a simple infringement gave Northumbria possession from which they scored. Another turnover gave Northumbria the opportunity to extend their lead which they did. The Dragons kept fighting to the last minute but could not prevent a loss by 42 to 34. As ever, things could have been so different. Both coaches commented that the game had too many mistakes from their perspective but the “never say die” attitude from the Dragons was evident for all to see and this bodes well for future games.

When interviewed, Dragons’ coach Jess Garland said she had been pleased by the second half performance but rued the first quarter which was when the match was effectively lost. She commented that the Dragons are making progress and now need to convert possession to ensure a victory. The Dragons have the opportunity to do just that on Saturday (February 10th) when they take on Loughborough Lightning in Loughborough.

Team:

CELTIC DRAGONS VS BRUNEL HURRICANES
Brunel University, Uxbridge
Friday 15 December 2006

Final Score
Celtic Dragons 23 : Brunel Hurricanes 43

Following their thrilling victory over Leeds Met Carnegie on Monday the
11 December the Celtic Dragons Netball Superleague team travelled to West London, for their match against Brunel Hurricanes, full of confidence and fire.

Brunel Hurricanes had started their 2006/07 campaign well beating Mavericks and Team Northumbria at home. A loss against Loughborough Lightning in their last match meant they were out to re-establish themselves as serious title contenders. Their array of England stars, past and present, looked very focussed in the warm up and it was clear the Celtic Dragons would have their work cut out.

Dragons’ coach Jess Garland started with almost the same combination that had finished the game against Leeds so convincingly. Susie Drane was unwell and her place was taken by Sophie Baxter. The Dragons started well converting their first centre pass. The teams matched each other goal for goal for the first five minutes. The Dragons’ defence of Hale, Modeste and Elsley started to apply pressure on the Hurricanes attack and supported by the centre court players of Baxter, Mayes and Joll forced mistakes from the Hurricanes team. Turnovers were converted to goal and after ten minutes the Dragons were 7-3 ahead with Jamilla Abbott at Goal Shooter continuing to dominate the shooting circle.

This was exceptional considering the Hurricanes defence of Hutchinson and Mkolomo had not only played together last season but are England team-mates. Goal Attack Anna Joll created space around the edge of the circle and this was supported by some accurate passing from Mayes and Baxter resulting in the dominant display from the Dragons’ shooters. Hurricanes regrouped and began to get back into the game creating turnovers of their own which were also converted to goal. At the end of the first quarter the score was even at 9-9. It was interesting to note that the Dragons had created more shooting opportunities than their more highly ranked opponents.

The Dragon’ line up for the second quarter remained almost the same with Mayes and Baxter changing position at centre and Wing Attack respectively. Hurricanes also made changes introducing Josie Leutton at Goal Shooter. Leutton has been out injured for a number of months and this was her first game following surgery. Her height made a difference in the Hurricanes attacking circle and Hurricanes looked as if they might start to pull away. They stretched their lead to 3 and 4 goals within the quarter but the Dragons continued to fight for every ball and pulled themselves back into the game closing out the quarter just 19-17 down.

The shooting averages for the Dragons were not as good as against Leeds Met and the second quarter again saw Dragons have more shooting opportunities. The team took to the court for the third quarter still believing they could win the game. Hurricanes introduced their Australian shooter for the third quarter to try and break the consistency of the Dragons’ defence by offering a different style of play. For five minutes Dragons had the same number of shooting opportunities as the Hurricanes but unfortunately the ball was not going through the net in the same way it had done in the first half. After eight minutes Dragons found themselves 27-18 down and at three quarter time it was 34-19. The Dragons had only had half as many shooting opportunities as the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes’ attack had found a way through the previously resolute Dragons defence with their England Wing Attack in particular feeding the Australian shooter with some deft passes.

Hurricanes continued in the same vane in the final quarter. Chrissy Munro was introduced at Goal Attack, Jo Blanks at Centre and Emma Bliss at Goal Defence for the Dragons at the beginning of the last quarter. The fresh legs did make a difference in terms of getting the ball to the shooters but unfortunately the goals did not go in. Despite several attempts the Dragons did not score for the first 13 minutes of the final quarter by which time Hurricanes had extended their lead to 43-19. A determined last 2 minutes saw Dragons score 4 goals with no reply turning over Hurricanes possession 4 times. This was a very positive way to finish a disappointing second half.

There were still encouraging things to take away. The score was better than the two matches played against Hurricanes last season. In the first half the Dragons created 8 more shooting opportunities than their opponents and only had 8 less attempts overall. There were in excess of 25 turnovers for the Dragons throughout the match. The Dragons played some solid attacking netball for the full 60 minutes. Coach Garland will be working with her players to turn possession into goal. Had the shooting been as good as it was against Leeds then a victory would have been guaranteed which would have been exceptional against a team such as the Hurricanes.

This all bodes well for the matches in 2007. The programme starts again in February as a result of South Africa coming to England for a Test Series. Wales have arranged a Test Match against the touring side which will be very useful in supporting the Welsh teams’ preparations for next years World Championships. The Test Match is being staged in Deeside on the 20th January at 6.00pm. Due to the size of the venue seating will be limited so those wanting to attend are advised to buy their tickets as soon as possible as a sell out is anticipated.

How the Dragons lined up:

Subs not used:Blucher Trounce

CELTIC DRAGONS VS LEEDS MET CARNEGIE
Welsh Institute of Sport, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Monday 11 December 2006

Final Score
Celtic Dragons 49 : Leeds Met Carnegie 34

ABBOTT TURN

The Netball Superleague hit Cardiff with a vengeance last night,
11 December, as the Celtic Dragons played their first home match in front of the cameras of Sky Sport. Having lost their first two games they were hoping for a victory against Leeds Met Carnegie, the only other team not to have won a match in the League. And win they did to turn around their fortune and they have Jamilla Abbott to thank for it.

The match was always going to be a tense struggle and the first 15 minutes was just that. Expectation was high as the Celtic Dragons intercepted Leeds’ first centre and converted to goal. However Leeds weren’t phased by this and took an early 4-1 lead. Throughout the first quarter, as with the whole match, the Leeds’ shooters converted most of their opportunities maintaining the pressure on the Celtic Dragons. Both teams worked hard to force errors from their opponents and tight defensive marking lead to turnovers. As Goal Shooter Shenaide Blucher and Goal Attack Chrissy Munro settled, the Dragons started to get themselves back into the match ending the first quarter with a slender 9-8 lead.

The Dragons coach, Jess Garland, changed her line up at quarter time replacing Sara Hale at Goal Keeper with Bianca Modeste who moved back from Goal Defence allowing Emma Bliss to take to the court at Goal Defence. Sophie Baxter went from Centre to Wing Attack with Anna Mayes returning to the bench to be replaced by Susie Drane at Centre.

Despite some rapid interchanges of play, Leeds dealt with the change of style and were determined to stay with the Dragons. Despite steady shooting from Blucher and Munro the quarter was drawn, and Dragons went in at Half time just one goal ahead 16-15.

The Celtic Dragons attack looked dramatically different as the teams took to the court for the third quarter. Anna Mayes was reintroduced at Wing Attack, with Anna Joll and Jamilla Abbott taking to the court at Goal Attack and Goal Shooter respectively. Despite missing her first shot Abbott provided an excellent target for the team and holding a strong space was found with greater regularity by her team mates. Anna Joll kept the Leeds Met defence guessing by using her speed to attack the edge of the circle and create space for Abbott at Goal Shooter. Abbott, who shot for Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, has been focusing on the Goal Keeper position for the last 8 months, but looked totally at home in the shooting circle. As the quarter progressed, Abbott began to dominate the circle and the capacity crowd got behind the Dragons who raised their game even more. The all court defence of the Dragons had slowed down the passage of the ball when in Leeds’ possession. Even tighter marking enabled Clare Elsley, at Wing Defence, to show her class taking numerous spectacular interceptions and setting up another Dragons attack.

Dragons went in at three quarter time33-25 ahead having won the quarter
17-10.

Coach Garland made one final change for the last quarter reintroducing Sara Hale at Goal Defence in an attempt to close down Leeds’ very tall and accurate shooter. Despite losing the third quarter by 7 goals Leeds Met Carnegie were still fighting hard - the game was still to be won. The confidence of the Celtic Dragons continued to grow and more turnovers enabled the Dragons attack to feed the dominant Abbott. To the excitement of the crowd Dragons pulled further ahead extending their lead by a further 7 goals with Abbott and Joll sinking shots at will from anywhere in the circle. As the final whistle blew Dragons had secured a 49-34 victory and the crowd showed their appreciation of an entertaining match. Abbott and Elsley had been outstanding but the Guest commentator, Anita Navin, named Abbott as the player of the match as a result of her 92% shooting average and the impact she had on the game.

The Celtic Dragons can look forward to the remainder of the Superleague season with a higher degree of confidence. Let’s hope that the success on the court can be repeated and for future home games the team is supported by a loyal passionate and full crowd as they were last night.

The next home game is on 23 February 2007 at the Welsh Institute of Sport. For those that missed this great match you have an opportunity to relive the excitement as the entire game will be broadcast on Sky Sports this coming Thursday, 14 December, at 5.00pm and 9.00pm.

CELTIC DRAGONS VS TEAM BATH
University of Bath
Friday 1 December 2006

Final Score
Celtic Dragons 19 : Team Bath 68

The Celtic Dragons’ second match in this year’s Netball Superleague was against last year’s Champions – Team Bath. The fixture, being staged at the University of Bath’s outstanding facilities, offered the Celtic Dragons players an opportunity to test their skills against, potentially, the strongest team in the League.

The match was never going to be an easy one. Team Bath themselves were not pleased with their overall performance against Loughborough Lightning earlier in the week and had something to prove to themselves. As with all the Franchises, competition for places is intense so the Team Bath players saw the match as an opportunity to stake their claim as a starting 7 player and also prove their worth.

Celtic Dragons started with a different line up to the previous week against Northern Thunder. Shenaide Blucher started her first ever Superleague match and held her own throughout the match. Jo Blanks started at Goal Defence, with Jess Garland hoping Jo’s experience would help limit the movement in the Team Bath shooting circle. Restricting the trio of England shooters that Team Bath could call upon was always going to be difficult but the Celtic Dragons stayed with Team Bath for the first 7 minutes turning over ball several times.

Team Bath settled midway through the first quarter and their movement of the ball down the court found their shooter more regularly allowing Team Bath to establish an 18 – 7 lead at quarter time.

Coach, Garland, changed her defence circle introducing Jamilla Abbott as Goal Keeper to add height and reach hoping that this would limit team Bath’s shooting opportunities. Team Bath showed why they are Superleague champions as every Celtic Dragon mistake was capitalised upon and converted to a goal. The Celtic Dragons stuck to their defensive plan and made Team Bath work very hard to get the ball to their shooters. The half time score was 32 – 13 to Team Bath, having won the quarter 14 – 6.

Both teams made changes to their line up with Team Bath introducing Welsh captain Billy Bowers at WD. The Celtic Dragons introduced one new player but made several positional changes. Team Bath’s all court defence caused real problems for the Dragons who struggled to get the ball into their shooting circle. As a consequence, Bath won the quarter 20 – 2 and the quality of their players was very evident.

The Celtic Dragons did not become despondent and continued to fight hard in the last quarter. Similarly, Team Bath did not let up and were determined to score as many goals as possible. There were periods of end to end play with the Dragons making numerous interceptions. Unfortunately, these were not converted to goal. The final score was 68 – 19 and served as a warning that life in the Netball Superleague is never going to be easy.

Jess Garland, the Celtic Dragons’ coach, used 9 of her squad and was up-beat about the match, despite the score-line. Jess, who played for Team Bath last year, felt the Dragons could take some positives away from the game. These include a developing understanding between all the players. She felt that the Celtic Dragons made Team Bath work to retain and convert possession.

The next match is Monday 11 December, against Leeds Met Carnegie. This game is being televised and it is hoped that a large crowd will be at the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff to cheer the Dragons on to, hopefully, their first victory.

CELTIC DRAGONS VS NORTHERN THUNDER
Welsh Insitute of Sport, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Saturday 25 November 2006

Final Score
Celtic Dragons 26 : Northern Thunder 32

The game was played in a competitive spirit. Both teams were obviously nervous with this being the first game of the season but for some players the nervousness was doubled as it was their first time on a Superleague court.

Both teams will be taking something away from this match and work on it in practice. The Northern Thunder team, as ever, were well schooled and their tight “man-to-man” marking created some problems for the Celtic Dragons team.

The Celtic Dragons’ defence also turned over ball but, unfortunately, this was not always converted to goal.

The season promises to be hard and competitive and this match illustrated exactly what lies ahead for both teams – close, physical but enjoyable netball.

Prior to the main match, an equally close youth game took place – final score:

Celtic Dragons Youth 32 : Northern Thunder Youth 40