Young Panthers hold their nerve to register first win

After a couple tough defeats to start their life in South U16s Division Two, they made it third time lucky by shooting down the previously unbeaten Rushmoor 33-31 at Beau Sejour – but it could have been another story.

A cushion that earlier stood at 11 goals had been compressed to just one with four minutes left and the Sarnians were struggling for composure, leaving them liable to fall at the final hurdle.

Yet Panthers salvaged the win via several key rebounds and intercepts, with a couple conversions giving them extra breathing room, which drew hearty applause from the home crowd.

‘I am literally ecstatic for the girls,’ was senior coach Heidi Rosamund’s reaction.

The home side had entered with a full squad, showing depth in all areas, and got off to a flier with four straight goals.

Emelia Mullins – the eventual player of the match – was shining at centre as the experienced combination of GS Charlotte Griggs and GA Lola Wakefield shot sharply.

Yet it was not long before their opponents restored parity at 7-all.

Ultimately Panthers won the quarter 11-8, making several great turnovers and bringing them through the court and to goal smoothly.

They welcomed back two previously unavailable players for the second quarter – Ana Bailey at GK and Emily Le Page at C.

Producing a big scoring run of five and later four right before the break, they blew out their lead to 24-13 at half-time.

But Rushmoor showed they are no pushovers in quarter three.

Their eventual POM Rosalind Torr proved highly effective at WD after initially holding WA, while Eva Finn and Molly Jacob shot almost faultlessly, punishing Panthers with a scoring run whenever they hit a lapse.

Panthers faced a surprise setback when captain Frankie Savident suffered an apparent injury deep into the quarter – thankfully, after some icing, she returned for the final stanza.

Leading 28-21 with 15 minutes left, were Panthers catchable? Nearly.

They lost composure and errors plagued them, allowing Rushmoor to score five unanswered and trail 31-30.

The umpires were put through their paces amid spirited and sometimes heated play but, critically, the greens came through the nail-biting finish.

‘Shooting was on point today, defending was on point, and it’s great because we’ve got everybody back and loads of strength in depth,’ Rosamund said.

‘It was tough out there, but that’s the physicality of the league ... they’re not used to playing to that physicality, but you can see today the difference in the girls. They’re taking on that physicality and giving just as good as they get.

‘We did lose composure near the end of the match, and I was glad the umpires were strong enough to bring the game back into some sort of order.

‘Everybody wants to win, don’t they? It’s the adrenaline, it’s everything that goes with it.’