By Timmy Mac
As the only Supernova team that was undefeated so far this season and flying high at the top of the tree, the fourth team took to the field of play at Milwall in an attempt to harvest another victory and extend their winning record to five games. They would take on Croydon 5, who were looking to cause an upset to the league leaders on their home court.
The game started slowly, as both teams weighed up their opponents to try and exploit any weaknesses in defence. The deadlock was eventually broken by Joe Carrol, who converted a superb long-range effort to put Supernova up 1-0. Croydon were to show early on that they were not willing to lose ground early, and quickly replied with a short range shot of their own, making it 1-1. However, on the switch of ends, the experience of Mark Paxton showed as he added a pair of goals. First, a running in shot to make it 2-1, then a high-arching long shot to extend the lead to 3-1. Croydon again looked to reduce the deficit, as they won a penalty and made the opportunity count, taking the score to 3-2.
Over the remainder of the half, Supernova began to show why they are top of the standings as the fruits of their labours saw them score the next four goals, pushing the score to 7-2. First, with Croydon’s boys dropping off to assist with collect, Joe Carrol found himself unmarked, and cool as a cucumber, he made a mid-range shot. Again, with a change of ends, Mark Paxton managed to get away from his defender within a couple of metres of the korf and bagged his third goal of the game. Then, new joiner to the club, Rosie Freathy, used quick feet to race clear of her defender and finish a running in shot. The four goal flurry, concluded when another new joiner to the club this year, David Reed, made a peach of a long shot from the corner of the court. At this point, Croydon were able to halt Supernova’s momentum and, through a mid-range goal made the score 7-3. Before the half was out, Rosie Freathy restored the five goal lead with a long shot of her own, making the score 8-3 at half time.
After some encouraging words from Coach Eiti, and a couple of substitutions (Rose Bailey coming on for Rosie Freathy and Woody Ma on for David Reed), Supernova 4 went out for the second half with aspirations of developing the skills and tactics they had been working on in training and hopefully closing the game out with another solid victory. Croydon were the first to create a goal scoring opportunity in the half with another penalty following a slight lapse in concentration from Supernova’s defending division. They were able to capitalise on the chance awarded to them, making the score 8-4. However, Supernova weren’t about to let their opponents gain control of the match and following a period of minimal goal scoring opportunities they finished the contest with the remaining six goals of the game. Francesca Grave worked effectively with a quick return pass into the feed to score her first goal of the match, a running in shot. Then, substitute Woody Ma, caught his defender unawares with a quick turn from the feed position and was awarded a penalty which Joe Carrol scored to secure his hat-trick. Rose Bailey showed great composure under pressure to make her running in shot count which was quickly followed by Mark Paxton’s runner. Abbey Fewell then caught and shot quickly with the ball ending up plumb in the middle of the basket, to add her name to the list of scorers. Francesca Grave finally put the cherry on top and closed out the game with another superb running in shot.
And so, it was another solid victory for Supernova 4, winning the contest 14-4, meaning they continue their 100% winning record for another week. With three games remaining before the Christmas break, they will be hoping to close out 2016 with a significant points buffer over those teams below them.