Isle of Man Netball match reports from Santander International Senior Leagues games played on Sunday, December 4:

Premiership

Suntera Global Ballasalla

Blizzards 28, Simcock

Blue Eagles 24

The first quarter of this game was goal for goal as Ballasalla put lots of faith in their youth and started with three under-18s in attack.

Charlie Callow-Moore worked tirelessly around Gemma Kirkham in the shooting circle to create opportunities, but with lots of possession being stolen in the mid-court the score remained low. The first quarter ended 6-4 to Ballasalla.

Both teams found their rhythm more in the second quarter. Erin Keggen came on well at goal shooter for Simcocks, with both her and goal attack Sarah Corkish slotting the ball in the net from anywhere.

There was still no clear leader going into the second half and only two goals difference.

With some clever play from Danielle Murphy in the shooting circle and some great intercepts from Becky Dunne in defence, Ballasalla were able to slightly extend the lead to four at three-quarter time.

In the final period, Simcocks made a final push for the game. Ellan Charmer and Vivia Duffy caused all sorts of problems for the Ballasalla shooting circle.

This combined with the control that Clare Belcher-Smith and Fiona Kemp were showing down court meant that Simcocks were able to bring the game to level.

But Ballasalla upped their determination and were able to claw back their lead, winning the game 28-24.

Player of the match was Kemp for Simcocks Blue Eagles.

Championship

Manx Gems Sapphires 13, Thompson 2 - 35

As Manx Gems Sapphires started the game with only five players, Thompson 2 were able to capitalise on that from the beginning.

Persistent pressure from Thompson’s defence of Charlotte Christian (GD) and Rochelle Boyd (GK) meant the first quarter ended 8-5.

With Sabrina Crowe (GK) being joined by Hannah Halsall (GD), Gems were able to gain turnovers in the second period to bring the ball down with pace to their shooters Alisha Fitzgerald (GA) and Lucy Brown (GS).

Unfortunately for Gems, they continued with six players for the majority of the game which resulted in Katie Keenan (WA) and Ashleigh Baines (C) needing to work really hard in order to ensure the transition down the court was successful.

This was challenged by Thompson’s Hannah Clague (WD) who secured many interceptions for her team. By the end of the third quarter, Thompson had pushed ahead to make it 22-10.

Sharp feeds into the shooters from Karen Duncan (C) and unmarked Ellie Hughes (WA) allowed the Thompson attackers to play the ball in and out in order to be in a comfortable shooting position.

Effective communication from the strong combination of Chloe Schofield (GA) and Emily Gaylor (GS) led Thompson to their first win of the season. Excellent movement and accurate shooting from Schofield gained her player of the match as the game ended 35-13.

Division One

Suntera Global Ballasalla Drifts 33, Suntera Global

Ballasalla Earthquakes 11

Suntera Global Ballasalla Drifts started off strong with sound centre passes from Annelise Mellor (C) and Charlotte Thompson (WA) feeding into the circle to Lily Gill (GA) and Lucy Radcliffe (GS).

This enabled them to take the lead despite close marking in defence from Suntera Global Ballasalla Earthquakes’ Gemma White (GK), Charlotte Brooks (GD) and Caitlin Henery (WD).

By the end of the first quarter, Drifts led by six goals with the score 9-3.

Both Ballasalla teams made some changes in the second period, with Earthquakes bringing on Alicia Kewley to GD and changing Brooks to WD.

With some missed opportunities by Earthquakes’ shooters Rebecca Hands (GA) and Megan Sheward (GS), Drifts defenders Clare Crowe (GK) and Amy Gelling (GD) capitalised on securing the rebounds and were quick to bring the ball down the court with the help of Annabelle Clague (WD) to shooters Jo Hicks and Lily Gill to score eight goals.

The score at half-time saw Drifts leading 17-4.

Earthquakes continued to attack in the second half with solid centre play by Janet Lawrinson (C) and, with Hands now at WA, they were able to feed into the shooting circle to Henery (GA) and Megan Sherwood at GS scoring four goals.

With both teams contesting the ball and great interceptions being made by Drifts’ Gemma Kermode (WD) and Gelling (GD) during this quarter, Drifts continued their lead 22:8.

The last quarter saw Earthquakes working hard with tight defence by Eliza Raynor (WD) and in the circle by Kewley (GD) and White (GK), but Drifts dominated the attack and won the game 11-33.

Player of the match was awarded to Radcliffe from Drifts.

Division Two

Castletown Vikings 18,

Castletown Jets 36

The re-match for these two Castletown teams was a game that was going to see both teams coming out fighting.

Jets had taken the win in their last game, although Vikings had led for the majority of the match before their opponents snatched the win late on. Therefore, Jets wanted to carry on with their winning streak, while Vikings wanted to even the score.

Jets came out strong from the first whistle, which saw shooters on point and the defensive circle of Imogen Beech and Summer Sadler gaining repeated turnovers in the circle.

Vikings struggled to break their momentum and the first quarter saw a dominant Jets team take a lead of 14 goals to two.

Vikings team made a lot of changes to address the challenge coming from Jets which saw Sofia Douglas move to C, Issy Cutts move to WA and Phoebe, Michelle and Olivia take on the strong Jets attacking side.

This enabled them to find a better flow in their attacking side but Jets’ shooting duo of Ruby Watterson and Amy Potts were unstoppable and continued with their dominant shooting, which saw the first half end 24-5.

The second half saw better play from the Vikings team as Jess Quigley (GS) and Amelie Hutchinson (GA) found each other more easily with some lovely feeds helping them to increase their score, while Ciara Whelan’s move to GD aided their defence.

But Jets’ speed through the court, led by their captain Molly Zybert, was simply impressive to watch and the quarter ended 32-11.

The final period saw Vikings manage to take control and the quarter, but the impressive play that the youngsters from Castletown Jets had shown all through the match earned them the victory comfortably by 36 goals to 16.

There was a shining player from the Jets team as no matter where she played - be it GA, C or GD - there was no denying her presence on court was key for the team and Bree Collister quite rightly earned herself the player of the match accolade.