Cardiff City Cobras lost to Dragons 1 but showed great strength and team spirit.
Cobras fielded a mixture of experienced and brand new players including Ceri Jones playing his first game in 18 months and Sophie Jenkins playing her first game after two training sessions.
Cobras lined up with Kate McCulloch, Stuart Wood, Jon Rowles and Emily Jenkins in first attack, and Ceri Jones Elaine Potter, Mark Boorman (C) and Sophie Jenkins in first defence.
Dragons put Cobras under pressure from the beginning with Cobras struggling to maintain a fluid attack. At the other end the Cobras defence were forcing shots to be taken from the edges of the court. Dragons opened the scoring first and raced to a 3-0 lead but not before Potter managed to win the ball back on numerous occasions with some great defending.
Jones opened up City’s scoring with a lovely middle distance shot that was a well earned team goal and lifted the team’s spirits. Woods’ section started to move the ball around well in attack and won a well deserved penalty but were unable to convert it.
Dragons extended their lead to 5-1 and then came the goal of the game (from a City point of view!!) – a long shot by Potter. Jones was fighting well under the post providing Potter with the opportunity and she took it. This energised the team and McCulloch and E.Jenkins defended really well with Woods out collecting his opposition for a period of time. Half time the score was 5-2.
After half time Cobras added to their score with a running in shot from Woods but afterwards struggled to convert their opportunities and add to their score. Dragons kept their scoreline ticking over but were made to work hard for their goals. Boorman and Jones were making nuisances of themselves in defence with S.Jenkins and McCulloch playing brilliantly and looking far more experienced than they were.
The final score was 12-3 to Dragons but the Cobra team played really well and can be very proud of their team performance. Thanks to Jo Nash for refereeing. Photos coming soon.