EKL Premier Round up – Week 2
There were four matches in the second week of the Premier Division of the England Korfball League, with both KV and Tornadoes from Kent both in action for the first time this season.
Nomads 14-21 KV (HT 5-9)
Referee: Paul Jeanes
KV caused an early upset in the England Korfball League with their 7 goal winning margin over last seasons 3rd placed team Nomads at Epsom College Sports Centre. The last time KV beat Nomads was March 2012 when the team from Kent won 18-13.
Nomads coach Dave Butters said “I wasn’t happy having five players unavailable for selection this week and along with two players coming back from injury, today’s match was always going to prove difficult.
“Even though we knew KV’s strengths, I was disappointed that we conceded 12 goals from with 2 meters of the post.
“We now have a 4 week break to finalise our squad for this season, which is still work in progress and look forward to getting back on track on the 16th November”
James McDonald, KV player/coach said “It was a good start to the season, first two points in the bag. Nomads were weakened with some key players missing and we made sure we took advantage of this with a convincing win against one of last years top four.”
Bec 33-10 Birmingham City (HT 18-2)
Referee: Steve Jones
Whitgift Sports Centre, Croydon
Bec Korfball Club made it two wins out of two with a convincing 33-10 win over Birmingham City who have now lost both their matches in the league so far. Bec’s Blake Palfreyman top scored with seven goals, five from open play and two from the penalty spot.
Jess Beale, player/coach Birmingham City Korfball Club “A mixed bag for us today. We faced a very strong Bec team who shot amazingly well. The pressure they applied to our passing caused us lots of problems in the first half reflected in the half time scoreline of 18-2
“After a stern talking to at half time, encouraging our players to move towards the ball more, we played a lot better. We only lost the second half 15-8 which we are very happy with.
“Joe Bedford [Bec Korfball Club] had a great game yet suffered a devastating ankle sprain in the second half, potentially taking him out of the Europeans. On behalf of Birmingham City I would like to wish everyone competing at the Euros the best of luck!”
Senior England International and Bec Korfball Club captain, Davesh Patel said “Great all round team performance with all of the starting eight scoring from open play! Kept to the game plan and with that discipline we were rewarded with some excellent goals.
“One blip in that England International Joe Bedford went off injured with a twisted ankle. Hoping that it’s not too bad with the European Championships looming…”
Trojans 27-10 Tornadoes (HT 14-6)
Referee: Gary Cole
An impressive performance from the England Korfball League’s current champions at Trinity Sports Centre, Croydon resulting in a 27-10 victory for the home side.
Trojans Korfball Club coach Gary Brooks said “Toby Clarke played for the 1st team and showed great pace and maturity on his debut. Dave Brooks and Tony Woodvine top scored with 9 each.
“Hitting 8-0 in the first ten minutes set the agenda. Tornadoes regrouped after halftime but the damage was done.
“Trojans Korfball Club would like to wish all those players that are representing their country well during the forthcoming Europeans.”
Speaking about the result David Brooks, Trojans Korfball Club captain said “A strong disciplined performance from all the team against a determined Tornadoes who never gave up. Both teams scored some creative goals which was great to see.
“Goodluck to all the players and officials heading out to Portugal in the coming weeks from our Home Nations.”
Norwich Knights 21-10 Kingfisher (HT 11-3)
Referee: Toby Parsons
The final match of the day took place at UEA Sportspark, Norwich between Norwich Knights and Kingfisher from East Malling, Kent. The form book was with Knights who have won the last three meetings between the two teams.
Speaking after the match Norwich Knights coach Joe Stirling said “Today was all about building on the positives from last week at Bec and getting points on the board before the International break.
“We were electric from the start, scoring 8 unanswered goals.
“Everyone looked to shoot from all areas which in turn created more opportunities. We took 100 shots as a team with Vogwill scoring 50% from open play.
“Denton provided Kingfisher’s biggest threat scoring 5 of their 10 but defensively we were tenacious throughout forcing turnovers and highly pressured shots.
“We now enter the International break in high spirits as we continue to train hard and continue progressing.
“Next up we travel to Birmingham who will be fighting for survival in every match and we will ensure we do everything to be ready for the test.”
Kingfisher coach Ross Carr-Taylor said “Knights got off to an amazing start their outside shooting in the first 12 minutes was in the 70%conversion rate.
“The game was out of reach at 8-1 after that the game was played pretty evenly with both teams playing some fast exciting korfball.
“We have got to perform better if we want to compete come the end of the season, all in all a poor performance.”
There’s an International break now for the senior IKF European Korfball Championships which take place in Portugal between Saturday 25 October and Sunday 02 November 2014. The next England Korfball League matches will be between Kingsfisher and KV on 15 November.
Make sure you’re following England Korfball on social media for the very latest news, results and updates. You can follow @EnglandKorfball on Twitter and Like our page on Facebook. Let’s see how many people we can reach on social media!