Oldham race to regional glory at the Velodrome

HOW ABOUT THAT? . . . Oldham Netball Club's under-14s will be Birmingham-bound later this month

OLDHAM Netball Club's talented under-14s team sailed to victory in the North-West regional finals tournament, which was staged at the Velodrome in Manchester.

The local outfit qualified for the national finals later this month in Birmingham thanks to a brilliant 33-15 victory against Chester.

Oldham started off the game with the first centre pass straight to goal.

INTERCEPT

An early intercept from Kasmin Narnor then turned over the Chester centre and gave Oldham an early lead.

Oldham's defence put plenty of pressure on the Chester squad, forcing them into errors.

Both shooters - Alex Martin and captain Berri Neil - slotted in every shot, taking the the score at the end of the first quarter to 9-3.

Quarter two showed much the same form, with player of the match Millie Marsden influential as the half-time score moved to 18-6 in Oldham's favour.

Three intercepts from Frankie Southern and one from Kasmin all went to goal in quarter three, and some spectacular play from Oldham brought gasps from the crowd as Kate Leddy and Ellie Williams brought the ball to the shooters at full speed and with accurate, precise passes.

It was 28-11 at the end of the third quarter.

The final quarter wasn't quite as dominant for Oldham, but they went on to complete a well-deserved 33-15 victory.

The National finals take place in Birmingham on May 27-28.

Delighted Oldham Coach Pam Hazelton said: "To produce results like this comes with a price.

"We have spent many hours at Oldham Leisure Centre perfecting our skills and routines.

"It's back into intense training now as we want that national title badly."

Captain Neil completed 100-per-cent shooting statistics against Chester - converting 14 from attempts at goal.

Martin hit 19 out of 20 attempts.

Squad -

Alex Martin, Berri Neal, Ellie Williams, Kate Leddy, Niamh Taylor, Zahra Mirza, Georgia Southern, Molly Stevenson, Frankie Southern, Kasmin Narnor, Stacey Tankoua, Millie Marsden, Hannah Diamond and Aisha Brunt.