By Max Drinkwater-James
USW netball 1sts head coach Phillipa Yarranton pinpointed a “family feel” as key to her side’s success following a 48-42 win over UWE 2nds.
The victory sees USW extend their unbeaten record this season to four games after previous wins against Cardiff Met and a double against Bristol’s fourth and third team.
Yarranton said: “I’m really, really happy with the performance from the girls.
“When I took on the role I always said culture is something that I’m massive on and feel really passionate about.
“I’ve got an open-door policy, and all the girls know that as well.
“There’s definitely a family feel, definitely a togetherness.”
It wasn’t all plain sailing for USW against UWE.
The home team started slowly and found themselves behind after the first quarter. Yarranton used the quarter break to usher her side back into the game.
“We had a sticky start to the game, but after a little bit of a chat and some regrouping and looking at what we have done this week in training, I thought they went out there and pulled it back really well.
“We didn’t keep possession very well in that first quarter.
“When we got in (to the break) we made a couple of changes, a couple of safer hands on the ball”
Yarranton praised the impact of her substitutions adding: “I think that they really impacted today and did a good job.”
The USW head coach was cautious when asked about her side’s chances for the title this season.
“I don’t want to say anything and then jinx anything really,” she said.
“Obviously we want to win, it’s a competitive sport.
“We’ll just continue to look at what we’ve got to work on each week and then implement that in training to try to continue the run we’re on.”