Tough start could prove valuable to T&T Blue
T&T BLUE have learned a lot from their rough start to Premier Division life – not least their consecutive early-season beatings from the top three.
And captain Claire Jennings hopes this experience pays off in the new year as they battle to be crowned ‘best of the rest’ with the bottom-four Plate award.
The Blues, the B team of a merger between Plate champions Thunder and powerhouse team Titans, have shown glimmers of promise since starting with big losses to Resolution IT Green, Blaze and T&T Purple.
Defender Sophie Cowley has dazzled individually, claiming a league-best five player-of-the-match nominations so far, while recent victories against Liberte NGT A and Blaze B have set them on a more positive trajectory.
‘We learned from each of those [top three] games and have steadily moved forward as a team,’ Jennings said.
‘We have gelled more and more as the season has progressed and are becoming increasingly aware of how each other plays.
‘Combining two teams to become one is never going to be an easy feat, but we are making great gains and have secured a couple of vital wins.’
Rezzers Black edged their first meeting by three goals, but T&T Blue still enter the Christmas break just behind in a solid fifth.
Beyond the ‘awesome interceptions and rebounds’ offered by Cowley, Division One step-ups Lilly Simmons and Sophie Pontin have covered for injury in the Blues defence.
Jennings is now hungry for further improvement.
‘We know we have areas of our court play that need to be worked on, we know that we can perform well as a team,’ she added.
‘We’re working hard in each game and I can’t ask for more from the girls.
‘It seems to be the third quarter where we dip slightly and then come back fighting in the fourth, but this is something I’m confident we can overcome with time.
‘Hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day – the team has strong foundations in place and we are continuing to build on these.’
