by Adam Evans
UNIVERSITY of South Wales 1st achieved their second win of the season by defeating local rivals Cardiff Metropolitan 3rd in a hard-fought encounter.
It was also their second win on the bounce, following a 39-36 victory against Cardiff Met 4th last week.
The local derby started off quickly, with both sides putting together some fluent passing moves to work their way to the opposing goals.
It was Cardiff Met who took the lead in the early stages, however USW kept their cool and got themselves into the lead on the 8th minute. Poor defensive discipline from Met gifted the home side easy opportunities in front of goal.
Met then put their errors behind them and took the lead, but USW equalised in the last move of the quarter levelling the scores at 10-10.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Met began by putting pressure on the USW defence which resulted in the visitors taking a 12-10 advantage.
USW came from behind to put themselves ahead thanks to some composed finishing by Abi Meredith.
The home side remained in control for the rest of the period and kept their lead as they went into the half-time break with the scores at 21-20.
Met got the scores to level-pegging at 35-all midway through the third period of an enticing encounter.
Aggie Farlow-Hoare was at the heart of the majority of USW’s attacking play, slicing the Met defence open with precise passing and great movement around the ‘D’.
USW got their noses ahead briefly but Met knew they were still in with a shout. Soon after Met put themselves in the driving seat.
This match could have gone either way as USW once again re-took the lead as the match headed into the final quarter; 32-30 the score.
USW delivered the move of the match within the first five minutes of the final quarter. A counter-attack which was started from their own half of the court was passed too fast and too effectively for Met’s liking as the ball was slotted into goal. Once again, Aggie Farlow-Hoare was pulling the strings during that move.
USW began to pull away, Met’s poor defensive discipline returning, and the match ended with USW victorious with a 43-39 victory.
