England Senior Korfball Squad in Belgium
The England senior korfball squad played two matches in Belgium
last weekend, winning one and losing one. Cambridge City’s
Carla Bennett became the first player from National League
Division 1 to play for England, with the rest of the squad
playing in either the Premier Division or for Dutch clubs;
this is an outstanding achievement for her.
Saturday 3rd February: East Flanders - England : 10-7 (6-4)
England began strong and built up a 4-1 lead, but the loss
of Otto Fabius to a twisted ankle had a serious impact on
the game. Suddenly the Flanders pressure began to cause problems
to get the English attack organised and, from then on, England
struggled to score goals. After half-time this did not change,
with England defending very well, but struggling in the attack
in both sections.
Starting line up:
First Attack: Ross Bower, Dean Woods, Ella Wright, Nsemeke
Ukpong
First Defence: Rob Williams (Captain), Otto Fabius, Carla
Bennett, Jocelyn Hoffman
Reserves: Davesh Patel, Matt Brooks, Dave Synott, Robbie
McDonald, Sarah Jane Hubbard
Sunday 4th February: Antwerp Brabant - England : 11-12 (3-7)
The scoreline gives the impression that is was a close game,
but on the pitch it wasn't. England dominated their opponents
in every aspect of the game. The scoring problem from Saturday
was gone due to a shooting exhibition from Matt Brooks. England
kept on going to dominate until and built up a 10-4 lead,
but suddenly England stopped playing naturally and it appears
that England were afraid of winning the game. Some refereeing
decisions went in Antwerp Brabant’s favour to help them
reduce the lead. With 7 seconds on the clock Antwerp Brabant
scored to bring the final score to 11-12, but England held
on.
Starting line up:
First Attack: Davesh Patel, Robbie McDonald, Sarah Jane Hubbard,
Ella Wright
First Defence: Dave Synott (captain), Matt Brooks, Carla
Bennett, Jocelyn Hoffman
Reserves: Dean Woods, Ross Bower, Rob Williams, Otto Fabius
(injured), Nsemeke Ukpong
Due to last minute injuries, squad regulars Karen Sparrow
and Al Knight had to withdraw from the squad. Davesh Patel
stepped in at the last minute to substitute for Al, for which
the England management are very grateful.
(Teams lining up before the England – East Flanders
game)
|
