Wealden Hang on in atrocious conditions
The first game of NWK was not a pretty one, the rain came down to make the courts very slippery and the ball very wet! But Wealden's new squad were ready to get their heads down and play a good game. New Captain, Sam Pembroke's game plan was to consolidate the team and learn about each other in preparation for our Regional fixture next week.
Youngsters, Georgie Bailey and Chelsea Rix made their debuts and settled in very well. Claire Westerbeek returning after a serious ankle injury 18 months ago slotted back in like she had never been away, gelling well with Lauren Simpson and Charlie Baker in defence. Lucy Hopkins donned the centre bib and made some great interceptions and good attacking decisions with Tracey Jones returning after 8 years of retirement, adding experience at WA. Sam (GA) and Georgie, who has swapped the GK bib for GS this year, shot with confidence under challenging conditions. U16 star Chelsea took no time to settle in displaying some amazing skills in attack.
Vibrant had a very experienced team who have been playing together for many years, but Wealden were never more than 5 goals behind and went into the final quarter trailing by only 2. Having taken the lead by 3 goals with about 4 mins to go Vibrant dug in and forced some errors, capitalising on the turnarounds and scored 3 consecutive goals to bring the score to 26 all at the final whistle.
Vibrant had a very experienced team who have been playing together for many years, but Wealden were never more than 5 goals behind and went into the final quarter trailing by only 2. Having taken the lead by 3 goals with about 4 mins to go Vibrant dug in and forced some errors, capitalising on the turnarounds and scored 3 consecutive goals to bring the score to 26 all at the final whistle.