Ynys Môn produce outstanding effort against strong tournament hosts

ISLAND INVITATIONAL NETBALL GAMES – NOVEMBER 8, 2023

Day 2: Isle of Man 64-34 Ynys Môn 

Ynys Môn had their hardest game of the tournament on Wednesday against the tournament hosts.

Isle of Man are currently ranked 27th in the world and regularly compete in Netball Europe competitions.

Anglesey were in fantastic spirits following a team meeting in the morning, reviewing the footage from the day before against Shetland, looking at the positives that can continue and the areas to develop going into Wednesday’s game.

Clear targets were set ahead of the game as a team, defensive and attacking unit, as well as individually.

The girls went into the match with this quote to remind them of the day’s goals:” Winning doesn’t always mean being first, winning means doing better than you’ve done before.“

Squad

Gwenan Williams (c)
Cerys Jones
Lucie Leonard (c)
Rhodd Parry
Saran Griffiths
Steff Oliver Smith
Cerys Parry
Cerys Davies
Jessie Jones
Gwen Roberts
Gwenno Pritchard
Elan Gilford

Starting 7

GS – Gwenan
GA – Cerys J
WA – Lucie
C – Rhodd
WD – Saran
GD – Steff
GK – Cerys P

The girls were outstanding, sticking to the game plan and targets set out beforehand.

Gwenan again was fantastic in offering strong holds for the ball and increasing her shooting percentage from yesterday to nearly 90%.

Cerys Parry led the team from the back, continually communicating and shouting to the girls to support the defensive efforts and it was fantastic to have Steff Oliver-Smith in the defensive set up bringing knowledge and experience into the team as well as a number of intercepts.

Each quarter showed the team were able to match the physicality of Isle of Man. In the first quarter the game was goal for goal for the first 9 minutes, shocking the host isle and forcing them to adapt their normal playing style and look at their bench for alternative options.

The final scoreline does not reflect the efforts and intensity shown throughout the game with the impact players fitting in seamlessly throughout and providing fresh legs to the team.

Scores after each quarter (Isle of Man first): 17-10; 35-18; 49-29; 64-34

Coach Comments (Simone Gould)

“Today for us was about processes, tidying up some errors from Tuesday and working towards specific goals and targets, building upon them throughout the game.

“I am incredibly impressed with the physicality, efforts and morale of the squad, from the girls on the court, the bench and team behind the team – today was outstanding and I could not be prouder. I am excited for our last 3 games and what else we can bring to these games.”

The next game is Thursday, November 9, at 10am vs Orkney