Thunderbirds 3 32 Shooters Flames 54
Stratford Ladies Blues 53 Thunderbirds 2 21
Thunderbirds 4 17 Comets Tornadoes 67
Stratford Ladies Purples 30 BDR 11
Thunderbirds 5 9 Trust Helping Hands 58
Shooters Sparks 23 Thunderbirds 1 28

Thunderbirds 3 had a number of newly registered players for this week's match against Shooters Flames.  They came together well and brought the game to Flames.  From 10th position, T3 managed to be well within 50% of the winning score of 2nd placed Flames.  They managed to score nearly twice the total goal tally from the previous 2 meetings in this final match between the teams.  Both GS took player awards, Abi Francis for Thunderbirds took the oppositions award and Naomi Parker the umpires' award for Flames.  

League leaders Stratford Ladies Blues met Thunderbirds 2.  In the first quarter Thunderbirds were generally keeping up with Blues, but for a few unforced mistakes.  At the first interval, Blues led by 11 goals to 5.  Both teams scored reasonably consistently throughout the match, with Blues winning each quarter by slightly bigger margins as the game went on for then to take the win and 5 points.  Holly Binks for Thunderbirds took the umpires' and players' award; starting at WA and playing various positions throughout the game, her contribution from each was positive for the Thunderbirds team.  *Pictured below in action at C contesting the ball with Alice Linley.  Equally, Carolyn Stacey, starting at GD and moving to C later in the game served her side well.  

Thunderbirds 4 met Comets Tornadoes.  In each meeting between the 2 teams Comets have managed a similar scoreline and goal difference.  T4 had 2 newly registered players join them with Beth Phillips impressing the umpires at C, and Megan Rogers the opposition at WD.  For Comets, Becky Fernandes-Green and Alma Warburton picked up the umpires' and players' awards respectively.

In the late fixture, Stratford Ladies Purples met BDR.  Purples short on players this week had 2 players play up from Blues - both Alice Linley and Bobbi Sands had played in the early fixture.  After a full game at 10am, Bobbi came on as sub, but still picked up the players' award.  BDR managed their best result against Purples of the season by far.  The winning score on this occasion was below half the tally for Purples on both the previous meetings. Purples maintain their 3rd position with BDR slipping from 8th to 9th.

Thunderbirds 5 met Trust Helping Hands.  Without a point on the board, these girls treat each game with the same determination and positivity.  Their pre-match team talk consisting of the fact that they were not starting the game with defeat in mind, but focusing on what positives they could take from the game.  *Umpire happened to overhear this and admired their positive attitude.  T5 took the lead in the first quarter being the first side to score.  The whole game they continued to work hard and enjoy the game.  2 more newly registered players - Poppy Gardener playing GA & WA, and Fauna Evans at WD - new to the league, new to the game but kept her head up, kept working with the support and encouragement of her team mates - the umpires chose her as their player of the match.  The vastly improved team did indeed take positives from the game - not only was it a hugely enjoyable and sociable game for both teams, but T5 scored more and conceded less than on both previous meeting with Trust.

In the final fixture of the week, Shooters Sparks met Thunderbirds 1.  Each meeting between these sides have been close, with Thunderbirds just taking the win on each occasion.  Bella Wilson had a great game for Sparks at WA, taking both the umpires' and oppositions award.  Lolita Galvin at C for Thunderbirds took the umpires' award, and Olivia Bollons at GA the oppositions'.  A close game once again, Sparks take 2 points from the match - totalling 5 from their fixtures over the season despite no win. The 5 points for T1 mean they creep up the league table by 2 positions, going ahead of BDR and T2.

Players of the match awards:

• Thunderbirds 3: Umpires' player - Millie O'Connor, Players' player - Abi Francis 
• Shooters Flames: Umpires' player - Naomi Parker, Players' player - Jemma Moore
• Stratford Ladies Blues: Umpires' player - Beth Griffiths, Players' player - Sam Murdoch
• Thunderbirds 2: Umpires' and players' player - Holly Binks
• Thunderbirds 4: Umpires' player - Beth Phillips, Players' player - Megan Rogers
• Comets Tornadoes: Umpires' player: Becky Fernandes-Green, Players' player = Alma Warburton
• Stratford Ladies Purples: Umpires' player - Phindi Nduna, Players' player - Bobbi Sands
• BDR: Umpires' player - Helen Handy, Players' player - Ashlee Powell
• Thunderbirds 5: Umpires' player - Fauna Evans, Players' player - Olivia Clayton
• Trust Helping Hands: Umpires' player - Hollie Jones, Players' player - Kate Halden
• Shooters Sparks: Umpires' and players' player - Bella Wilson
• Thunderbirds 1: Umpires' player - Lolita Galvin, Players' player - Oliva Bollons

Shooters Flames 41 Stratford Ladies Purples 31
BDR 27 Trust Helping Hands 38
Thunderbirds 2 26 Comets Tornadoes 45
Thunderbirds 1 18 Stratford Ladies Blues 51
Shooters Sparks 67 Thunderbirds 4 13

Thunderbirds 3 v Thunderbirds 5 - T5 conceded the match

After a long break with half term and storms to contend with, we were pleased to have a bright and dry morning on Sunday to get fixtures played.  2nd and 3rd placed Shooters Flames and Stratford Ladies Purples met in the early game - pictured before the match.  Strong shooting from both teams led them each to recognise their opponents' GA for the player awards - Dani Sutton for Flames and Laura Urquhart for Purples.  The umpires also chose the same position for their player awards - Jemma Moore, C for Flames and Emily Holmes, C for Purples.  The third and final fixture of the season between these teams and Flames take the decider.  The first meeting Purples took the win by just 1 goal, the second was a very similar scoreline to this week's match with Flames taking the win to maintain their 2nd position in the league table.

BDR took on Trust Helping Hands in a particularly sociable game thoroughly enjoyed by both teams.  Charlotte Harris GS for Trust was on strong form earning her the oppositions' player award.  Ably marked by GK from BDR - Ildi Booth, who Trust chose as their player award.  The umpires also looked to the BDR defence giving Jenny Darby, GD their award.  Nannett Gordon for Trust, playing half the game at C and half at WA took the umpires' award for her general all court support.

The final early game was between Thunderbirds 2 and Comets Tornadoes.  Comets made a strong start taking the first quarter 17 goals to 6.  Thunderbirds had their best period in the 2nd quarter closing the gap to just 5 by winning the period by 10 goals to 4.  However Comets picked up the pace again in the 2nd half to take the win, with Thunderbirds earning a point from the game.  

The late games saw Thunderbirds 1 take on league leaders Stratford Ladies Blues.  Thunderbirds struggled to take advantage of the extra player in the first 3 quarters of the match as Blues waited for support from Amy Attardo travelling from playing another local match.  Thunderbirds tried different approaches to maximising the extra player, but the experience of Blues made it hard for them.  Bobbi Sands at GS for Blues provided good solid support for her team creating and converting lots of scoring opportunities, and Sophie Amplett at GK also had a strong game making it tough for Thunderbirds to convert their chances.  Mother and daughter took to the court together for Thunderbirds with Kizzy Galvin playing up from T2 with daughter Lolita.. making for interesting on court support / discussions between the two :) Kizzy supported the younger team mid court but later took a shooting position and scored some nice goals for them.  The 5 points for Blues keeps them 2 points clear at the top.

The final game of the week saw Shooters Sparks take on Thunderbirds 4.  The first 2 meetings between these teams saw Sparks win by just 5 and 9 goals respectively.  However, they took a commanding win on this occasion with a goal difference of 54!  They had 2 subs so fresh legs to go with their greater experience, and Thunderbirds just having a straight 7 struggled to keep up.  The win for Sparks keeps them within 9 points of Trust in 5th place just above them, and who they will meet in the intergroup games in 2 weeks time.

Player awards

• Shooters Flames: Umpires' player - Jemma Moore, Players' player - Danni Sutton
• Stratford Ladies Purples: Umpires player - Emily Holmes, Players' player - Laura Urquhart
• BDR: Umpires' player Jenny Darby, Players' player - Ildi Booth
• Trust Helping Hands: Umpires' player - Nannett Gordon, Players' player - Charlotte Harris
• Thunderbirds 2: Umpires' player Lauren Simmonds, Players' player - Ellie Heron
• Comets Tornadoes: Umpires' and players' player - Molly Paish
• Thunderbirds 1: Umpires' player - Freya Richardson, Players' player - Issy Owrid
• Stratford Ladies Blues: Umpires' and players' player - Bobbi Sands
• Shooters Sparks: Umpires' player - Lorraine Whitmore, Players' player - Beth Morgan
• Thunderbirds 4: Umpires' player - Jasmyn Thomas, Players' player - Megan Rogers