In a tie that pitted the league’s two bottom sides against each other, Northumbria University W1 Netball came out on top against Durham after tightly contested 41-34 victory at Sport Central.
The result sees Northumbria pull further ahead of basement team Durham, as well as make up ground on local rivals Newcastle in BUCS North 1A.
Team captain Daniella Lay said: “It was a must win for us as Durham are one below us in the league.
“They had beaten us in the previous league game, so it was a great result for us and exactly what we needed to try and stay in the league.”
The opening two quarters saw both sides cancel each other out offensively - both sides showing good composure at the net to set up a tense second half as Northumbria pushed for the win.
Some player rotation from the home side enabled them to gain the lead in the closing quarters whilst also keeping the opposition at bay, with Northumbria eventually holding out for a vital seven-point victory.
“It was definitely a fair result as we gave a 100% effort and tired Durham out,” added Lay.
“We were able to turn over a lot of ball and give the chances to our shooters who converted them to goals.
“Another positive from the game was that we managed to get all the players from the bench on to the court which helped us get the win.”
Lay singled out the performance of Northumbria goal keeper Chloe Cubello in securing the points who showed great determination despite not being physically at her best.
“A stand out performance for me was definitely our goal keeper Chloe, who despite being very ill during the game, was my player of the match,” she said.
Next week sees Northumbria go up against Manchester Met in a cup game where they’ll be looking to build up a positive league result.
Antonie Thomas
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