Hartlepool netball club Oaksway top of Premier 3 after four wins from four

OAKSWAY made it four wins out of four in netball’s Premier 3 after showing their style and strength in a 48-41 victory at Deeside.

It proved a physical and feisty affair in North Wales but the Hartlepool girls passed the test with flying colours and are now the only team with an undefeated record.

Leah Kennedy’s league leaders put their record on the line this Sunday with another away day, at winless Royals in Windsor.

“Four out of four is amazing,” the player-coach told Life. “The girls are doing exactly what I want them to do at the moment.

“We need to make sure we recover this week, connect well with each other at training and run through some of there things we need to from Sunday’s match.

“Our goal is to go straight back up to Prem 2 this season so we need to maintain our mindset, keep building and trust in what we are doing.”

For all this Sunday’s opponents are without a win to date, they will be no pushovers on their own court.

After drawing their opener, Royals have lost three in a row, but all by tight margins and have the fourth best defensive record.

Oaksway’s performance in Queensferry at the weekend should stand them in good stead.

It proved an intense battle for the full 60 minutes in front of a passionate and raucous Welsh crowd.

Oaksway won every quarter but each was fiercely contested with the visitors taking the opener 11-10 and the second session 13-12 to lead 25-23 at the interval.

Deeside’s high transgression count made for regular blasts of the umpires’ whistles which meant that Oaksway could not get into their customary flow.

However, they edged the third quarter 11-10 to open a four-point advantage and took the last 12-8 with the aid of a Deeside player spending two minutes in the sin-bin.

“We kept our heads and utilised our experience,” added Kennedy. “There was a lot of whistle which meant it was too stop-start for our liking but I was proud of the girls and their composure.”

The starting seven of Alice Clough, Kennedy, Smith, Millie Tinkler, Evie Iles, Hollie Linighan and Ava Parnaby all deserve great credit while Orlaith Rogers made an impact after coming on in the second half with Lily Foster doing likewise at centre in the final quarter.