Promotional Division Playoffs – Saturday
Unbeaten Highbury lead going into Sunday’s fixtures
Highbury vs Bristol Thunder
South & East League Winners, Highbury faced Bristol Thunder in the first match of the weekend, kicking off a bumper weekend of Korfball at The Copper Box Arena, London. A quiet first half meant nothing much separated the two teams, as Bristol lead 11-9 with Jake Cooper being forced off the field due to injury just before the break.
Thunder carried their lead into the second half before calling timeout as Highbury closed the gap to 16-15. Cooper returned to the field with two minutes on the clock, as Highbury edged into the lead. Lizzie Tighe pulled Bristol back to within one point at 18-19, but Highbury sealed victory going into their afternoon fixture.
Norwich City vs Manchester Warriors
Norwich City and Manchester Warriors started their playoff campaigns cautiously, with both teams seemingly reserving their energy in the first half. An evenly matched 30 minutes saw a score of 6-6 at the break.
The Northerners dug deep to take the lead in the early stages of the second half, but Norwich refused to be beaten. Mike Brayne put Warriors into a 11-7 lead with 9 minutes left on the clock, before Thomas Greenfield of Norwich replied to make it 11-8.
Warriors extended their lead further through Brayne (13-8) and Rob Bloomer joined the score sheet for Norwich at 14-10. Too little, too late though, as Manchester Warriors ran down the clock to seal the match.
Bristol Thunder vs Manchester Warriors
Jake Cooper returned for Bristol Thunder following defeat to Highbury in their morning fixture as another close encounter gave Bristol a one-point lead at half time (7-6). Pete McGuckian levelled the game for Manchester at 8-8 but Thunder prevailed to seal the match 12-10.
Highbury vs Norwich City
Neither Highbury or Norwich seemed to have the accuracy in a low scoring first half as Matt Lunn scored for Norwich (3-3) with six minutes on the clock before half time. Backed by their lively supporters, Highbury went into the break with a lead of 6-4.
Norwich pulled themselves back within a point of the game at 8-9, with just over 2 minutes 30 to go. But as they threatened to level, Steve Carter fired from distance with just seconds to go. Rapid scoring from Highbury made it two wins from two with a final score of 11-8 going into Sunday’s games.
Tickets are still available for tomorrow’s games, including the EKL Grand Final at 4:30pm.
Please bear in mind West Ham United play their last home game of the season tomorrow so the Olympic Park may be busier than usual from 1pm onwards.
