Nerine's wait continues

Nerine A 34, Convent A 47

THE wait goes on for Nerine. The dominant force of Guernsey netball have yet to win the Channel Islands title under their current guise outright.

In 2003 they shared the crown with St Clement, but you have to go back to Rangers' win in 2000 for the last time Guernsey's champions have beaten their Jersey counterparts in the 'Upton'.

And with the majority of Convent A's successful side still only teenagers, it may be some time yet before Nerine can call themselves CI champions.

It is not as if Gill Queripel's side are lacking in talent, but on Sunday at Beau Sejour they needed to play for 60 minutes. Instead, they played in fits-and-starts.

At times they were very good and with Sonia Grant-Yendell showing excellent shooting form, they were in with a chance.

But the visitors, displaying a maturity beyond their years, produced the much more consistent performance that gave them the rewards they deserved.

The opening stages were tight with goals exchanged throughout the first quarter, which ended deadlocked at 9-9.

However, it was the start of the second 15-minute period that proved crucial as Nerine came out sluggish and soon found themselves 15-10 behind.

They would go on to narrow the gap at various points but were always playing catch-up from that stage onwards.

At half-time with the score 17-23, Grant-Yendell and coach Denise Bourgaize put their heads together and rang the changes with three substitutes being introduced and several positional changes thrown into the bargain.

Unsurprisingly, the team took time to settle and Convent shooters Laura Beeston and Sophie Holmes edged their side further ahead.

Kerri Brown and Grant-Yendell made the most of chances that came their way later in the third, but a seven-goal deficit going into the final 15 minutes seemed too much to make up.

So it proved as Convent turned the screw in clinical fashion with Beeston and Holmes hardly missing and England under-17 international Serena Guthrie doing sterling work in defence.

But it was an immense team effort from the victors that won them the trophy by a comfortable 13-goal margin.

'There were some good individual performances but they went in spasms really.

On the plus side, Nerine also had several youngsters in their ranks and the likes of substitutes Lyndsey Bougourd and Brown continue to show a lot of potential.