Fiat Netball Superleague-Dragons defeat Leeds by 3 goals
Another cracking FIAT Netball Superleague clash was contested at the Headlingly Campus as Celtic Dragon avenged their 11-goal defeat in the first game of the season by Leeds Carnegie.
It was close, and a strong finish by the home side made it uncomfortable for some visiting fans, but the Dragon held tight to make it two wins in two games. As well as proving entertaining for fans, both coaches were pleased with how their players competed.
After suspected ankle ligament damage to Jo Walker in last week’s game with Surrey Storm, it was serendipitous that Krista Enziano was available to join the squad from Northern Thunder. The law student had considered a move at the beginning of the season, but had the decision made for her when Thunder de-registered her to add some height to their squad with the signing of Lynsey Armitage.
And Lisa Ferneyhough, Leeds co-coach was pleased with how she took to the court: “Krista just slotted in, she was fantastic and did really well considering the last of training with the team”.
Leeds only had 10 players on the bench, as Natalie Panagarry (ankle), and Natalie Haythornthwaite (fingers) recover from injury.
Despite the lack of personnel the co-coach was pretty happy all round: “I was really pleased with the second-half performance after the games with Storm and Bath.”
“All in all we got the better of a welsh team, but it was their shooter who made the difference.”
Celtic Dragons head coach Melissa Hyndman thought Leeds Carnegie gave them a good game, “They did their homework and I was impressed with how they played as a team.”
But Hyndman was less impressed with the baying crowd who were less than sporting in her opinion.
Hyndman was also impressed with her own team although will be taking a look at why they went up by 10 goals but let it slip
“There was no standout individual,” she said, “But as a team they kept their composure and to fight to stay in front but did it and did it well. In that final quarter they played smart, taking control of the ball to count down the clock.”
