Nothing separates Zebras from Blaze B in a thriller
ZEBRAS ONE are rapidly earning their stripes in the Premier Division – and conveniently so are the young Blaze B girls.
On Tuesday, the two promoted sides fought out an exceptionally nip-and-tuck match that ended 52-52 when the call of ‘time’ came just too early for Zebras to secure that elusive first win or Blaze their second on the trot.
Both sides therefore left Grammar School Hall pleased with the competition and yet slightly irked not to have gone one better.
This came on a night of two walkovers, with Rezzers Black taking the scalp of a depleted Titans side at Les Beaucamps in the one other match that went ahead.
Against some Blaze players fresh from U16 training, Zebras had the stronger opening quarter, hitting the first break leading 13-11.
Blaze soon began to tip the balance in their favour upon resumption and reached half-time with a one-goal advantage, Zebras now down 23-24.
The first seemingly significant lead materialised in the third quarter as Zebras upped their scoring to give the opponents five-plus points to catch up on.
But the younger side tightened their defence and gained several positive turnovers, closing the gap to 35-37 heading into an exciting final stanza.
There, Blaze scored a couple more unanswered to equalise before a goal-for-goal next few minutes, eventually assembling a short-lived lead of their own.
Zebras closed them down to 43-all and then began a lengthy sequence of exchanging goals – both teams hitting the half-century mark with a few minutes left.
In an intense finish, Blaze pulled one ahead and turned over Zebras’ possession in the dying seconds only for the opposition to make a critical interception and cast in the equaliser.
More in Thursday's Guernsey Press.
