At the start of their Southern Shores U16 League double-bill at St Sampson’s High, Southampton visitors Dreams never gave their hosts a look in and they did well to only lose 41-33 after being 17 goals down at half-time.
But Panthers returned 23 hours later and genuinely threatened to win, settling for a 45-42 loss after just failing to make it over the line.
Dreams had promptly gone three up in that second match but then ended up goal-for-goal against Panthers, before a few great passages of play enabled the hosts to claw back to 10-10.
The physical opposing team ended the quarter with three unanswered goals but could not establish a lead of any significance, while Panthers’ hustle on defence and impressive conversions soon helped them to edge ahead in the run to half-time.
Panthers were leading 24-22 and looking like genuine contenders.
However, a few important intercepts helped Dreams edge ahead, before then giving Panthers a more significant gap to chase – six going into the final quarter.
That gap peaked at eight goals before the Sarnians pulled off an improbable comeback. Into the final few minutes of the match, they had successfully slashed the deficit to a single goal.
The duelling sides returned to trading goals for a brief spell but Panthers were unable to make the big turnover they needed, and a Dreams conversion on the hosts’ last centre pass proved the final nail in the coffin.
Heidi Rosamund, who was coaching alongside Tillie Graham, feels this close competition is just what the girls need.
‘It was a physically demanding, high-intensity game, which is exactly why this level of competition is so important for the girls’ development,’ she said.
‘If we want to prepare players for performance netball, they need to experience these challenges and learn to adapt, make decisions under pressure and adjust their game in real time.’
She feels that playing with patience and purpose is an important part of that.
‘We need to recognise when a shot isn’t on, make good decisions, protect possession and work the ball into a better position before converting our opportunities.
‘Every one of the 10 players contributed today, and it was a fantastic full-squad performance.
‘Tillie and I are incredibly proud of the netball the girls have played this weekend, particularly given that only a couple of players in the squad have significant experience of this level of physicality.
‘The girls are learning, adapting and growing with every game.’
GS Ellie Roger and GK Millie Burchell shared out Sunday’s player of the match, fulfilling their opposing roles with the same brilliance.
This marked a significant improvement on the previous day’s contest.
Panthers scored off their first centre pass but would face plenty of conversion woes from there, with their opponents otherwise striding through the first quarter 13-6 ahead.
The hosts netted another six goals in quarter two but entirely from their own centre passes, whereas Dreams made better use of their turnovers to make it 29-12 at half-time.
From 20 down in the third quarter, Panthers finally began to show their fighting spirit and were able to pull it back to 35-19.
Panthers then roared their way through the final stanza, including a beastly eight-goal scoring run, to secure a relatively close result.
Rosamund highlighted the need to bring more centre passes to goal and make better use of turnovers, gave the girls a talk that may have benefited them the following day.
‘We are seeing the foundations develop, and the commitment, resilience and teamwork shown by the squad this weekend give us plenty to be positive about.
'The next step is to keep building on that progress and turn more of our possession and defensive pressure into goals.’
Sharp-shooting GA substitute Gracie Guille shared POM with WD Daisy Le Page.
