Cowie Ladies 22        Westhill 2  36

Match Report by MARILENA HOSSAINPOUR

Cowie Ladies suffered a disappointing defeat against Westhill 2 in their match last Thursday.  Although Westhill 2 had the same number of points on the league table as Cowie they are a strong team and it should have been a close match.  However, it didn’t come together on the night and Cowie Ladies left it too late to get to grips with their game.

Cowie Ladies lost the toss up and Westhill turned their first centre pass into the opening goal.  Westhill seemed to dominate the first quarter with strong defence and good passes.  Cowie Ladies made an attempt to fight back with some good defending and marking but ended the first quarter scoring 5 goals, Westhill twelve goals. 

The second quarter was weaker for Cowie Ladies.  There were loopy passes at times and poor spacing on court and Cowie lost possession of the ball off the sidelines.  They continued the quarter repeatedly gaining and then losing possession of the ball before goals could be scored to finish with only 7 goals to Westhill 2’s 21.

 Cowie started to look more relaxed in the third quarter.  There was good spacing on court and they continued to fight to win some goals back.  Although Westhill seemed to dominate third quarter continuing with strong defence, excellent goals and co-ordinated play.  There were some good interceptions by the Cowie defence but possession failed to make its way up the court with weak passes, lack of ball control and held balls.  Cowie put away some good goals near the end of the quarter but at the end, it was Cowie 13, Westhill 30. 

Despite the defence being strong on the opposing team, Cowie really hit back in the final quarter and improved their game dramatically.  As Wing Defence, Jenny was fast off every whistle to receive Cowie’s centre passes.  The spacing on court looked great, all the passes were short and sharp as they should have been earlier in the game, and there was good movement around the circle and centre court.  Great defending by Goal Keeper Sabaah later earned her the award of Man of the Match.  Cowie continued to play well throughout the quarter and as a result managed to claw back a league point for getting half the final score which was Cowie Ladies, 22, Westhill 2, 36. 

The final score was a disappointing one for Cowie who have gained so much ground in experience, confidence and ability during their recent matches.  However, their match against Westhill 2 has highlighted some areas of their game which will need special attention during training this week.  Cowie Ladies’ next league match is against Hazelhead and they know they will have to significantly improve their game to stand any chance of winning against these well established opponents. 

It is a challenge which Cowie Ladies will relish facing. 

Team:  Sabaah Arshed, Katy Boyes, Claire Buckley (c), Vicki Corbett, Laura Cruickshank, Jenny Elrick, Kirsty Forbes, Becky Gordon, Marilena Hossainpour, Pamela McFadden, Janet Owen.