Dominoes Prem 3 Squad Secure Their Second Win of the Season, Against Hertford Hornets

After a victory against Riverside and an unfortunate loss from the Linden match, the pressure was on for Dominoes to take a win from their third Prem 3 match of the season. Although the players had travelled the long journey to Hertford just that morning, as soon as the Dominoes Squad stepped on court to warm up, they were high in spirit and looking sharp. The Dominoes’ Coach, Sarah Tomlinson, shared the starting 7 with the squad:
 
GS- Kim Higham
GA- Courtney Savage
WA- Rachel Towell
C- Sam Thomas
WD- Jemma Smith
GD- Rebecca Airey
GK- Charlotte Fairclough

As the first centre pass was taken, both teams were looking well-matched and it was evident that Dominoes were up against some strong individual players in the Herford Hornets Squad. Courtney Savage, who stepped onto court for the first time as a Dominoes player, made a great link with Goal Shooter Kim Higham from the first whistle, as their height and movement was unstoppable in attack. The first quarter finished with Dominoes taking a strong 14-5 lead.
 
There were no changes made by the Dominoes Squad going into the second quarter. There was a slow start to the quarter and, due to a few errors from both teams, the first few minutes were low scoring. Then, as the link between the centre court players and the shooters strengthened, and the strong and experienced Airey and Fairclough partnership developed, Dominoes managed to build on their lead, to finish the second quarter with an impressive 26-9 lead.
 
At half time, Coach Sarah Tomlinson made some changes. Emily Cowel came on at GS and her consistently accurate shooting brought the squad confidence from the get go. The centre court was also altered with Lauren Millar and Siobhan Gibbons taking the WA and C bibs, respectively. As a number of combinations had been trialled in training sessions and previous matches, the new players settled into play with ease. The consistency of play continued in Dominoes favour and Quarter 3 finished with a score of 39-14.
 
Going into Quarter 4, Emily Cowel moved to GA, Sam Brown stepped in at GS, Robyn Rashford moved to WD and Kim Higham re-entered the court at GK. Sarah Tomlinson set the target of completing the last quarter with over 50 goals and the Dominoes players were evidently fired up and ready to finish the game on a high. Both squads played at speed and fought until the final whistle, with the final score being 53-21 to Dominoes.
 
It was great for the squad to be able to bring all players onto the court, and for the scores to remain consistent throughout the whole game. It shows that there is a lot of strength and depth throughout the squad, and this makes the team optimistic for further success in the rest of the season. An outstanding squad performance!