Copsewood Diamonds defeat Hereford's Westside in West Midlands Netball League (From Hereford Times)

Copsewood Diamonds defeat Hereford's Westside in West Midlands Netball League

3:30pm Wednesday 26th September 2012 in Sport

WESTSIDE suffered a 43-36 defeat against relegated Copsewood Diamonds in the opening game of the West Midlands League Division Two season.

Having gained some new faces as well as temporarily parting with captain Sophie Wright while she is pregnant, Westside started the game a little hesitantly.

Their starting line-up was: Helen Hancock GS, Katie Parkes GA, Stacey Barker WA, Anna Mulderrig C, Aimee Phillips WD, Steph Snowzell GD and Debbie Bowdley GK. Westside defence were working hard to turn the ball over, with débutante Phillips making some good interceptions, but Diamonds’ defence dominated to earn a 10-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Westside continued to work hard throughout the second quarter, with Bowdley and Snowzell working well in their defensive circle to gain turnovers and Mulderrig having to keep her form against the very physical centre court play from Diamonds who retained a 20-14 half-time advantage.

Interval change saw a debut for Emily Davies coming on at WA and making space to feed the ball to Hancock and Parkes.

But Diamonds were able to keep their lead going into the last quarter thanks to the faultless performance of their dominant GS and despite Westside’s strong finish, with Parkes’ battling performance earning the player-of-the-match accolade, they were unable to close the gap.

Westside face newcomers Sutton Town next Saturday.