It was hard to look past the group stages to start with, however after a strong first performance seeing R M English take the win, we dared to dream. After a couple of games rest, the second game was upon us. Another strong performance from the team but this time we fell short, losing out by a goal. This left us with a 'must win' final group game.
The tension was building, a motivational speech from Heather Goodall (c) before the final group game gave the team the desire to win, we now just needed to translate that desire on the court. R M English changed up a gear and the goals started raining in. After securing an emphatic win, we progressed to the quarter finals. We had a good 40 minute wait before the next game, so what better way to fill our time than eat jacket potatoes with all the toppings you could ask for and a couple of games of table tennis.
The quarter final turned out to be a real underdog story. It was a slow start and we were found wanting in the early stages going 3-0 down. Stephanie Nicholson (vc) showed her determination and willing to never give up. Steph’s fighting spirit changed the game, within a matter of minutes the score went from 0-3, 1-3, 2-3, 3-3, with Connie Parkinson scoring all three goals!!!!!! The whistle blew which meant one thing, GOLDEN GOAL. James Burley made a crucial interception early on, with expert vision he made a stunning pass to our ‘on form’ Goal Attack, Connie Parkinson. With the pressure on, Connie took a deep breath and shot. GOALLLLLLL!!!! 4-3! Semi Finals here we come.
The semi-final was an extremely close game. Louis Smith & Eddy Clarkson worked tirelessly in defence to hold back the onslaught from the opposition to keep R M English in the game. The ruthless attacking from the opponents eventually paid off and we went down 1-0. They do say, you are most vulnerable just after you have scored and with heroics from Ally Horncastle, literally putting her body and face on the line, R M English clawed one back to make it 1-1. With a last minute goal from the opponents, we were eventually knocked out, much to everyone’s disappointment.
A huge thank you to Lupton Fawcett for hosting the event and an extra thank you to Connie Parkinson aka LeBron James, Louis Smith (The John Terry of the netball world) and Leo Tindall (joint top male goal scorer for R M English) for joining R M English on what was a fantastic evening of fun.