HISTORY was made for Newcastle Netball Club on Saturday as, after nine years of travelling for home fixtures, the club finally played its first-ever home league games at Shimna Integrated College.
For years, “home” games have still meant travelling, so to finally welcome teams onto their own court, in their own town, was a special moment for the club and everyone who has helped get them to this point.
And what a way to mark the occasion, two games and two wins.
Newcastle Blacks 48 Larkfield III 31
Newcastle Blacks got the afternoon underway against Larkfield IIIs, before Newcastle Pinks followed immediately afterwards against Carrick IIs.
The Blacks had the honour of taking to the court for the club’s first-ever home league fixture, facing a strong Larkfield side.
The Newcastle squad featured Lauren, Aisling, Kitty, Louise, Aine, Patricia, Coraigh, Christine and Therese.
From the opening whistle, both teams came out determined. Newcastle settled well, moving the ball confidently through court, but Larkfield provided a real challenge, particularly through an exceptional shooter who kept the Newcastle defence working hard.
Some excellent defensive pressure and determination across the circle helped Newcastle edge a competitive opening quarter 11-9.
The second quarter continued in much the same way, with Newcastle’s through-court play beginning to flow.
Good use of space and some lovely connections brought the ball into the shooting circle, while the Newcastle shooters showed great precision in calmly converting the opportunities created.
By half-time, Newcastle had stretched their lead slightly to 24-20, but Larkfield remained very much in the contest.
The third quarter proved decisive. Newcastle increased the defensive pressure, creating turnovers and, importantly, converting them at the other end.
The movement through court became more controlled and the Blacks began to pull away, taking an 11-goal lead at 36-25 into the final quarter.
There was no drop in intensity during the final 15 minutes, with Newcastle continuing to work hard across every area of the court before eventually closing out an excellent 48-31 victory.
A special mention must go to Patricia, who played her first-ever competitive netball game.
She took to the court brilliantly, settled into the game and made a great contribution to the team.
There was plenty to be pleased with across the whole squad, from some stunning defensive work against a very strong Larkfield attack to precision from the shooters and excellent through-court play and use of space.
There are still things to work on, particularly the timing of drives onto the pass, but that’s what training is for.
A fantastic team performance from the Blacks and the perfect start to a very special afternoon. Q1: 11-9 | Q2: 24-20 | Q3: 36-25 | FT: 48-31
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