After a run of successful games Paulton’s B team were feeling nervously confident heading into Saturday’s semi-final despite playing opposition from the league above. With masses of support from the sides they took to the court for a nervous start. After the nervous start the B team settled into their positions and with some good centre court movement from Jade and Liz they took a very narrow lead 7-6.

A quick change saw Charlotte replacing Kim at WD, fitting in well she took many interceptions allowing the ball to go up the court quickly. Katrina and Becky in defence worked well as a partnership preventing the Queensway attack from gaining the advantage. Queensway however came back fighting and the quarter remained goal for goal with some good shooting from Kristie and Helen who worked well together. This fast quarter finished with Queensway in the lead 13-14.

Another change around saw Kelly Bailes come on in place of Kristie at GS and Kim come on at GD.  The fresh players pushed the game forward with Kel on target and Kim slotting back in with Becky to keep her player out of the circle. Jade played a fantastic quarter covering more court than any other player. With some good passing in centre court Paulton B kept on attacking the circle and this paid off, they took the lead 21-18.

The final quarter saw more change with Char moving to GD and Laura coming on at WD. Laura’s energy helped Paulton keep going through the horrid rain and keep intercepting Queensway’s centre court passing. Paulton B took the game with a fantastic score of 28-21. This was a fantastic team performance with Jade Woodbury playing some outstanding netball throughout the whole game. Bring on the final!!

Thanks to all the supporters who braved the elements to come and keep us going!

The semi-final day arrived with a crowd of supporters and all players were keen to get started.  After an impressive win last week Paulton started the match with confidence yet knew they had a tough match ahead.  The first quarter saw the rain come down but Paulton battled hard with Victoria, Deb and Josie playing out of their skins to turn balls over. However, Dolphins were ahead 12-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Settling into the second quarter Paulton took advantage with Cheryl and Davina moving around the shooting circle with real ambition and scoring some amazing goals. With the majority of centre passes being converted both Paulton and Dolphins were not giving up the game but Paulton were successfully ahead 21-18 at half time.

With a good team talk and a few wise words from Stu, Paulton decided to take on the second half with the passion to win! Hayley and Shelley had to stay very strong throughout with good attacking and defensive play which thankfully resulted in accurate shooting from Davina and Cheryl. At the end of the third Paulton were still only just ahead by 31-28.

The last quarter started with more torrential rain but fitness prevailed in the Paulton squad. The game now belonged to Paulton and they played hard right up to the last whistle. The final score ended 42-33. Another notable team performance! Thank you to all those who came to support, especially in the awful weather!

Player of the match (voted by Dolphins)- Hayley Travis

KO Plate Final March 13^th in Taunton.