By Marcus Williams
University of South Wales Netball 4ths were well outmatched by a superior side from University of the West of England.
From the tip-off of the second quarter, down 17-0 the USW side looked as if they could bounce back after a difficult start to the game and season.
The second quarter would’ve been a wake-up call for the visitors if it wasn’t for their defence keeping up the solid performance they had been having through the first half so far.
After a weak start the game became a possession and set-piece master class from USW. They needed this. While it was still scoreless this newfound composure saw them netting two points over the course of around the five-minute mark. UWE came back strong after that, scoring their first points of the quarter and displayed some incredible passing and court vision but, USW had a response of their own with the home side scoring their first non-penalty points of the game.
They were still trailing but it was building towards a game shift in the favour of USW.
Set pieces and penalties began to build for both sides, UWE were calm, collected, and passing the ball around the court well.
UWE were finding everyone and anyone they wanted, they were bringing numbers with them; moving as a team and still, unforced errors cursed both sides. Anytime USW was probing around the final third it felt like there was more panic than concentration and thought; UWE were bringing the house to and stop any attack USW had, and they did, fast.
The whistle for the end of the half came, USW looked tired and lost, UWE seemed composed with the sore at 21-3.
USW were gave everything in this game but it wasn’t clicking.
The second half began and it immediately felt faster, especially from USW.
It seemed, for a brief moment, like that feeling of panic had turned into a sense of passion and drive, and a comeback seemed possible.
However, UWE started to take more control of the ball and their signature passing immediately started right back up again.
At this point the comeback was gone and it was more about damage limitation at this point. They needed to hold out until the fourth and then start running schemes to experiment for the next game because this isn’t working out.
The game changed from here on out, UWE completely ran the show for the final quarter. The final score was 54-13 to the UWE and USW need to be ready for their next game and bounce back from this fast.