England Korfball League
There were four matches in the Premier Division of the England Korfball League this weekend, the first of 2015 with wins for Kingfisher, Trojans, KV and Bec.
NOMADS 19-21 KINGFISHER – Referee: David Bond
Nomads lost at home against Kingfisher 19-21 this was Nomads third consecutive league match defeat and the fourth of the campaign so far. The result however doesn’t change the league positions, both teams are on 6 points, with Nomads ahead thanks to their superior goal difference. Nomads are in 4th place and Kingfisher currently in 6th place in the league.
Nomads Head Coach Dave Butters “Kingfisher played with more energy, more enthusiasm and took their chances better and deserved to win today”
Speaking to England Korfball after the match, Kingfisher Coach Ross Carr-Taylor said: “Today’s game was another example at how well we are coping with our new system, our passing for most of the game was fantastic, however our shooting was a little off.
“We had some great performances today from Kenzie [Baldock], Chris [Martin] and Saskia [Carr-Taylor]. We have a very busy period now with Bec on Wednesday and Tornadoes on Saturday night.
“We are really enjoying our Korfball at the moment and hopefully now other teams we realise we a force to be reckoned with this season”
Sytze Bijker top scored for Nomads in the match, scoring eight.
NORWICH KNIGHTS 14-18 TROJANS (HT 6-10) – Referee: Dean Woods
Trojans overcame a determined Norwich Knights team at UEA’s Sportspark on Sunday afternoon to extend their winning streak to four matches.
Trojans coach Gary Brooks “A decent result today against a good Norwich Knights team. Our team defence was much improved. Great performance from Stan Dunn against his former club in his home town. Just what was needed before we head off to the Europa Cup.”
Trojans and England senior international Steph Allen said: “Today was an important game as part of our preparation for Europa cup and we know Knights away is a tough game, so we were really pleased with the result.
“Great to have Amy Turner back playing after a stint off travelling and Stan Dunn had a great game against his previous club. With two wins from two tough games in the league we are really looking forward to Europa cup now!”
Trojans captain David Brooks and Stan Dunn top scored for the visitors with five goals each, however it was Norwich Knights star and England international Charlie Vogwill that top scored in the match with seven goals including two penalties and one free-pass.
KV 24-10 BIRMINGHAM CITY (HT 13-6) – Referee: Anna Jeanes
KV returned to winning ways with a 24-10 victory over Birmingham City. KV remain in third place in the league on 8 points.
Birmingham City’s player/coach Jess Beale “KV are clearly on great form and shot very well throughout today’s game. It is disappointing to travel all that way to have to play in, what I feel to be, a substandard hall.
“The game also felt a bit flat with KV’s unwillingness to move away from using the rebound block for every attack, but clearly it worked for them so why would they change?”
Birmingham’s captain Nick Wilkins who scored three goals in the match said: “The first half was a hard fought contest; we performed well and created chances whilst battling hard in defence.
“The turning point came at 8-5 when a string of goals from some accurate shooting from KV gave them a large lead coming into the 2nd half.
“KV played a very structured attack throughout the game which we struggled to disrupt enough, but with our young squad always improving, we will be looking forward to our crunch game in 3 weeks against Tornadoes.”
England U23 and KV’s Adam Camies top scored in the match with six goals to take him onto 14 league goals for the season.
TORNADOES 19-30 BEC (HT 7-14) – Referee: Adam Dibble
Bec maintained their 100% win record with an impressive 19-30 win over Tornadoes at Aylesford Sports College.
Dave Buckland, Bec Coach “Very pleased with the BEC performance against Tornadoes today. We hit 30 goals and took 90 shots. 1 in 3. Tornadoes shot very well today hitting 19 goals but we are creating so many chances, which is very pleasing to see.
“The Europa Shield is coming up and the team is working hard and is looking forward to the international challenge.
“We play Kingfishers on Wednesday evening and then KV next Sunday so we have some difficult games ahead. The players are looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
Speaking about the defeat Tornadoes coach Corinne Buckland said “Ok another loss, bad start but on the up side we hit 19 where from 12 in the second half. The youngsters will still grow and grow, with confidence. Also we had Ollie Woodham back for the last 15 minutes back on the pitch another plus point.”
England youth internationals Owen Bailey and Dan Brown top scored for Tornadoes with five goals each. Woodham scored two goals in his first match in the England Korfball League after a lengthy period sidelined through injury.
The England Korfball League’s Premier Division returns on Wednesday (14 January) with Bec hosting Kingfisher’s at Whitgift Sports Centre, Croydon. The match will start at 20:45.