TCCI are looking good for a mid-table finish

TCCI are well on course to achieve their season's ambition of a mid-table finish in Division One. 'If we could get up to fourth or fifth, we'd be pleased,' said their GK, Sarah Harris, after an exciting couple of matches which saw them experience mixed fortunes.

Harris' side won their first - against Nerine D - 41-33, but then proceeded to lose 34-30 to Nerine B.

Both matches were crackers.

Against Nerine D, TCCI found themselves 10-7 down at the end of the first quarter after some accurate shooting from Sarah James and Kate Seabrook.

But TCCI turned it around by remaining composed in centre court and taking their time to find the passes to their shooters, where player of the match Jan Fazakerley and colleague Nerissa Tullier found their form and rarely missed a shot.

Nerine D fought hard but lacked the controlled play and made several mistakes in centre court, on which TCCI capitalised.

In their second game of the week, TCCI led for most of the game and were obviously disappointed to lose by four points.

The young shooters of Nerine B were slow to get started and the first quarter ended 7-7.

TCCI then took control of the next two quarters, with some excellent shooting by Fazakerley and Tullier taking them into the final quarter 26-20 ahead.

Nerine were not out of it yet however and matched TCCI goal for goal until a nasty fall by Nerine's WA Becky Warren halted the game with just over four minutes remaining.

The game was stopped and resumed after a short break, with the unfortunate Warren playing no further part in the game.

Nerine shuffled positions and veteran Denise Bourgaize came on as GS.

What an asset she proved to be.

With her experience to guide the team, the youngsters pulled away in the last few minutes to take the game away from unlucky TCCI.

Harris, who acts as club secretary when she is not closing down opposition attackers, said the side were getting to grips with life after losing their very useful Australian shooter, Krystle Harford.

'We've had to shuffle the team around.'

TCCI, who emerged from the former North side, play hard but do not take things as seriously as some of their rivals, as Harris explained.

'We don't train. We're just a group of 10 girls who play together for fun. We want to win games, though, of course.'

Elsewhere in Division One, Barclays Masters were dominated by MPR Sarnians One in a game which saw Sarnians produce some excellent defensive play which linked well into centre court and then into GS Zoe Batiste, who was on fire, rarely missing a shot and giving her team a convincing 64-14 victory.

Julie Donaldson, for Masters, converted the few opportunities she had, but it was definitely Sarnians' night.

Nerine A, as expected, had a comfortable win over a P & J Conservatories One team that never gave up.

P & J captain Joy Knight said she was pleased with the way her team played against the champions.

'No one likes going out to play knowing they are definitely the underdogs, but we set ourselves small targets which thankfully we achieved,' she said.

Nerine B's other game this week saw them beat MPR Sarnians Two 35-13.

At the top of Division Two, Heritage One had a convincing win over JT Electrics at 48-15.

Although the score suggests a one-sided affair, JT Electrics did not give up and gave everything.

They had some good centre court play and their C, Laura Breban, was all over the court trying to urge her team on.

Heritage WD Heidi Abbotts, GD Kate Larkin and GK Liz Douglas were in formidable form and made life very difficult for JT Electrics' attacks.

Meanwhile, Nerine F's player of the match was GS Shelley de Lisle, who was on top form and helped her team to a convincing 51-14 win over PWC.

The losers fought hard but good linking centre-court play by Nerine's centre court trio of Lucy Cochrane, Elaine Donaldson and Carrie Dodd gave PWC no chance.

In the bottom division, the experienced HSBC Honeys saw off the young MPR Sarnians Four team 30-10.

Honeys moved the ball quickly and accurately down the court to their shooters, who managed to convert a high percentage of their shots.

Sarnians never gave up but they just couldn't contend with the experience of their opponents.

The young Nerine K battled hard in their 50-2 defeat by Division Three's top-of-the-table Heritage Two. Nerine were unfortunately no match for the experienced Heritage team and despite some excellent goalkeeping by Abi Bingham, she could not prevent the very one-sided scoreline.

Nerine J only just lost out to HSBC 27-23 in a game which saw brilliant play by both teams. The score was very close throughout, with HSBC just clinching the win.

The division's only other games saw Guernsey Electric beat Close Encounters 32-11 and Autumn Gold beat Heritage Three 22-14.