Nomads 2s & 3s Take Charge On The Road
Nomads 3 have had a run of really good results, winning four out of their last five matches. They are currently in 7th position in the London Regional League, level on 10 points along side Supernova 1 and Highbury 1 and six points clear of the next team (they are also the fourth highest scoring team behind Bec 2, Croydon 1 and Trojans 2).
The 3rd team girls have remained consistent (Tina, Cara, Ana & Claire) but the boys have changed every week. However, without exception, the boys have willingly played to the strengths of the team and as a collective have improved, delivered and played some intelligent korfball. Yesterday’s game against Croydon 2 was no exception. The team were; Ana, Claire, Josh and Ryan starting in attack and Tina, Cara, John W & Dan W in defence (Alex S who travelled from his match in Highbury and Charlotte were subs) with Colin coaching (and Mary adding her two pennyworth from the bench too!). The game started well and the teams were fairly evenly matched for the first 20 minutes or so and the score was level at 4-4. Despite some good attacks and recycling of the ball, in typical Nomads fashion, it wasn’t dropping and we were not scoring. John was penalised for being too eager jostling under the post (who knew he did that?) when we had a free throw and the ref turned the decision over, but he then scored shortly after in true resilient fashion. Colin substituted John for Alex. We had high hopes the ball would start dropping but frustratingly it didn’t. A half time regrouping and a clear idea of how we were going to play was not replicated when we got on the pitch. The ref made some ‘interesting’ decisions, in the second half awarding a penalty against Cara when she had not touched her player (which he accepted she hadn’t) – apparently the rules say you don’t have to… things felt as though they were going against us and we found ourselves 5-10 down with less than ten minutes until the final whistle.
The next ten minutes were inspired. Tenacious, motivated, determined and playing with a passion and a will to win, Tina passed to Cara, she was fouled and we won the penalty which Cara calmly converted. Ana played a strong game as always and added to the scoring bringing her tally to four and Claire was like a devil possessed and went from having a solid first half to scoring twice in as many minutes! Yes the crowd were on their feet, surely we couldn’t win? Josh and Ryan worked tirelessly in defence to disrupt the play and prevented the Croydon boys from shooting, getting hands to the ball in the air much to the delight of the increasingly loud crowd. The girls neutralised their opponents too and regular high scorers were kept at bay and they become frustrated. Dan made way for John to return to the pitch, having put in a really good performance in defence, and the belief that we could just do it grew. Alex (finally ha ha) found the basket and frankly the rest is a blur. We used our experienced to slow the ball in attack and the whistle went – we were victorious with the final score 12-10 to Nomads 3.
We were delighted with the win, but more so with the mentality that we showed to get the win. We never let our heads drop, every single person played out of their skin for each other and the team, with fantastic support from family, friends and fellow Nomads players.
Meanwhile, at the Petchey Academy, Nomads 2 faced off against mid-table rivals Highbury. With everything on the line, Nomads 2 battled to a 2 goal lead at half time.
As the second half kicked off, the pressure rose in one of the league's most notable saunas. The game made its way into the latter stages, and Highbury clawed closer and closer to the lessening Nomads lead.
After a late goal from Amy Smith to make it 15-14, Nomads 2 held on to take a vital win in their high-altitude pursuits of LRL1.
Many thanks to Dinos for kindly stepping in to coach the second team to a fine victory.
