BA Senior A team travelled to Lisburn Racquets on Wed 6th Nov to play Friends School Lisburn Senior A team in their first match of the Shield.
In the first quarter both teams started well, indicating it would be a very close match. The ball was worked well round the circle into Katie Cartmill GA and Gemma Hassan GS who shot well and secured the points for Banbridge. The score at the end of the first quarter was 5-6.
Friends came out stronger in the second quarter, causing Banbridge to lose the flow of the game. Unforced errors creeped in resulting in Friends taking every opportunity for goal. Aoife McNally WD worked very well defensively getting tips and interceptions on the ball, but Banbridge struggled to successfully carry the ball up the court for goal. At the end of the second quarter the score was 7-15.
In the third quarter Banbridge changed their game with short sharp passes up the court, holding their own. They slowed their game down and were back on track as both teams drew 4 all in that quarter. Annabelle Kelly GK and Zara Ginniff GD defended their circle, putting very good pressure on the Friends side and in turn, creating turnovers and forcing their passes off the backline. The third quarter ended 11-19.
In the final quarter, Banbridge came out their strongest and showed great determination. Nadia Radcliffe came on as WA and worked well with the attackers to feed the circle to Gemma Hassan who secured the goals for Banbridge. Nadia and Katie got out for the centre passes and showed nice linking play to Lynsey Orr C who worked consistently carrying the ball from one end of the court to the other. Unfortunately the girls couldn’t bring it back from the Friends team and the final score was 16-21.
Player of the match was Aoife McNally WD.