Nerine so serene

Nerine Trust A 46, MeesPierson Reads 13

YOU can bet your life savings on Nerine Trust A, or Rangers first-team as they really are, retaining their Division One title for another year. There is simply no team to touch them and no wonder they are playing the National Clubs League to be pushed.

Last night, in the first of three meetings with their great Division One rivals, they soared away to a comfortable win with half their full-strength side.

True, Sarnians were missing arguably their two best players in defender Liz Stone-bridge and injured centre Sarah Hoskins, but it's very doubtful even with those two in their line-up Nerine can be toppled.

After a poor third quarter - 'a pear-shaped one' - said Nerine coach Gill Queripel, she demanded her team to regain focus for the last 15min. period.

With the score 29-12 and the victory all but wrapped up she was wanting more than a simple denial of Sarnians a consolation point.

The double target was to score 50 and concede no more than just one in the last 15.

Well, the red-shirted ones satisfied one of the demands.

After 12min. of play and with Nerine having registered 15 goals in the period, Bridget Yabsley finally slotted a 13th goal home for a weary Sarnians.

Under the other post, Sonia Grant-Yendall and reserve shooter Anna Trump were firing them in from all angles, but having notched 17 in the quarter Nigel Gill's final whistle denied them the half-century.

'We woke up then,' said skipper Lorna Brown, on the subject of the fourth-quarter surge, but she and the coach know they will have to perform better this weekend if they are to retain their Guernsey Open title.

Nerine led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter and were 22-10 to the good at halfway.

Queripel gave an added dimension and experienced head to Nerine's approach play and her link play with centre Lois Batiste and goal attack Grant-Yendall was superb at times.

The third quarter produced just nine goals, including seven to the reds.

The positional switch of Queripel and Batiste was not working as the coach wished for and during a time-out the pair swapped bibs again.

Sarnians were not happy, but Nerine were well within the rules, apparently.

'If the Australians can do it, so can we,' said the winning coach.