Coach’s salute for young stars

NETBALL:

OLDHAM stood firm in the last quarter to edge out Northwich Sapphires 51-49 in the Northern League clash at Hathershaw.

The home side, after making seven interceptions, should have surged ahead in the first quarter.

Instead, the two sides were locked together at 12-12 as Oldham were let down by their feed into the circle.

At the first break, goal keeper Kate Smith was switched to the centre and Kirsty Bloomfield moved to wing attack. Megan Tann took over the goal keeper’s role.

The changes paid off as Oldham stormed into 31-22 lead.

Wing defence Olivia Jarvis was outstanding. The 15-year-old made seven interceptions, inspiring another teenager Harriet Gill (96-per-cent strike-rate) and Alexa Collier (76-per-cent) to pile up the points.

In response, the Sapphires made changes for the third period and they narrowed the gap to 43-38.

The final quarter was tense as the Sapphires continued to penetrate Oldham’s defence, but they were unable to get their noses in front.

Oldham coach Pam Hazelton said: “Our youngsters were exceptional as Northwich have a squad of very experienced players.

“I was particularly impressed with Olivia Jarvis and Harriet Gill.

“Our defence made 27 interceptions in total, of which we scored off 22. That’s very impressive.”