KWP WIN
U12 NETBALL CUP NATIONAL FINALS

Kingsway Power won their first major title of the year in what could be a history breaking season for the talented side based in Cheshire. After winning the regional heat they came into this competition as the favourites to win the event especially after winning the U11 competition last season and they overcame Leeds Athletic in the final 9-5 in a tie which is fast becoming one of the biggest rivalries within the ENG netball structures.

Group A

This was the official group of death in the competition and it served up a couple of shocks which showcased how competitive the group was going to be. Ellesmere Port, Leeds Athletic & Kingsway Power got their competition off to perfect start with convincing wins. After, we then experienced the first shock of the group with Ellesmere Port losing to AP Saints which blew the whole group wide open. Kingsway Power and Leeds Athletic won all their games leading up to their highly anticipated fixture and it didn't disappoint. Through out the ten minute game Kingsway Power were in control, but Leeds stayed in reach and were looking for an opportunity to capitalise on a KWP mistake. This mistake came when KWP made a very uncommon error at the centre pass, this gave Leeds a huge opportunity to tie or win the game with under a minute to go. With the clock ticking, Leeds raced down the court and scored to tie the game. There was still time left to win the match and knowing it was their centre pass they knew they had a huge opportunity to defeat KWP for the first time. As the centre pass was taken it was a nervy build up to goal and with seconds to spare the Leeds shooter sunk a incredible shot to give her team their first win over KWP. Finally, Magic NC secured a win over AP Saints NC to get an important two points that took them to fourth in the table.

Results

Ellesmere Port (11) Vs Magic NC (5)

Kingsway Power (13) Vs AP Saints NC (1)

AP Saints NC (2) Vs Leeds Athletic (10)

Kingsway Power (9) Vs Ellesmere Port (6)

Magic NC (4) Vs Kingsway Power (13)

Leeds Athletic (11) Vs Ellesmere Port (4)

Ellesmere Port (4) Vs AP Saints NC (5)

Leeds Athletic (10) Vs Magic NC (4)

Kingsway Power (7) Vs Leeds Athletic (8)

AP Saints NC (5) Vs Magic NC (8)

Group B

In this group Old Bridgians who won the Southern Finals lost their first game of the event against runners up from the Midlands, Ryland NC. Foxes NC were making their debut in this competition and didn't look out of place after a respectable 12-6 loss to Oldham NC. Old Bridgians needed a win but caught Oldham NC in good form, losing 14-4. This was followed by another loss to Turnford NC which meant they had to win their final game to stand a chance at qualifying for the quarter final play-offs. The final game of the group pitted Turnford against Oldham in the battle for top spot in the group. The game started relatively close with both sides going goal for goal, but with about three minutes to go Oldham pulled away and managed to win the tie 10-6. This meant they qualified as champions of the group.

Results

Old Bridgians (5) Vs Ryland NC (8)

Oldham NC (12) Vs Foxes NC (6)

Foxes NC (2) Vs Turnford NC (9)
Oldham NC (14) Vs Old Bridgians (4)
Ryland NC (3) Vs Oldham NC (9)

Turnford NC (7) Vs Old Bridgians (6)

Old Bridgians (9) Vs Foxes NC (5)

Turnford NC (9) Vs Ryland NC (2)

Oldham NC (10) Vs Turnford NC (6)

Foxes NC (4) Vs Ryland NC (11)

Group C

The Midlands champions Sutton Town got their competition off to a flying start with a win over TTNC and Starz NC also started strongly with a 8-1 win over Falcons NC. TTNC did bounce back after their loss to Sutton Town with a narrow victory over wild card entry Northwich Sapphires. Sutton Town continued to impress and won their next two games with ease, which kind of guaranteed top position due to their GD being so positive. After such a positive start Starz NC lost their next three games, but only by one goal in two of them which meant they did enough to qualify for the knock-outs. TTNC were coming on strong and finished second, with Northwich Sapphires in third who impressed in the final game of the day, drawing with Sutton Town.

Results

Starz NC (8) Vs Falcons NC (1)

Sutton Town (10) Vs TTNC (4)

TTNC (4) Vs NW Sapphires (3)

Sutton Town (10) Vs Starz NC (1)

Falcons NC (2) Vs Sutton Town (9)

NW Sapphires (6) Vs Starz NC (5)

Starz NC (4) Vs TTNC (5)

NW Sapphires (10) Vs Falcons NC (1)

Sutton Town (6) Vs NW Sapphires (6)

TTNC (11) Vs Falcons NC (4)

9th-14th Play-Off

Foxes NC (9) Vs Falcons NC (6)

QF Play-Offs

This round served up some interesting ties. Magic took on Turnford who they defeated in the final of our Eastern event and Old Bridgians took on TTNC which was the final of our Southern event. Turnford NC were determined to right the wrong of the result from the Eastern Finals and did a great job at making the game competitive against Magic, but unfortunately lost out by two goals. TTNC though got revenge for their defeat in the Southern Finals and defeated Old Bridgians 7-4 to advance to the quarter finals.

Results

Kingsway Power (19) Vs AP Saints NC (6)

Turnford NC (9) Vs Magic NC (11)

TTNC (7) Vs Old Bridgians (4)

NW Sapphires (6) Vs Starz NC (5)

Ryland NC (9) Vs Ellesmere Port (6)

Quarter Finals

Sutton Town won against TTNC in the group stages were confident of the win in this quarter final tie. Sutton got off to a poor start and went three goals down early on and didn't look like the same side that had won so convincingly in the group stages. As the game went into the second half, Sutton Town found the consistency needed to force a draw to send the game into extra time. Once in the extra time the game remained a draw and we went into a golden goal situation. Sutton Town won the coin toss and were awarded the centre pass. As the centre pass was taken it made it's way to their shooter who was expected to score and win the game, the shot was missed though and now TTNC went up the other end and patiently passed the ball to their shooter who coolly scored and won the game for TTNC. There were also wins for Kingsway Power, Oldham and Leeds Athletic.

Results

Sutton Town (8) Vs TTNC (9)

Oldham NC (13) Vs Ellesmere Port (4)

Kingsway Power (16) Vs Magic NC (5)

Leeds Athletic (5) Vs NW Sapphires (2)

9th-14th Play-Off

Results

Ryland NC (11) Vs Old Bridgians (8)

Foxes NC (8) Vs AP Saints NC (9)

Starz NC (6) Vs Turnford NC (7)

5th-8th Play-Off

Results

Ellesmere Port (9) Vs Magic NC (7)

Sutton Town (11) Vs NW Sapphires (8)

Semi Final

We had three Northern sides in the semi finals and one of the games was the big rivalry between Oldham and Kingsway Power. Kingsway Power started well and took the advantage going into the second halve two points ahead. Oldham bravely came out in the second quarter determined to force errors and that's exactly what they did and managed to overturn the two goal deficit and went ahead by two themselves with less than a minute to go. It was a true test of nerve with Kingsway Power scoring a quick goal on their centre pass, all Oldham had to do is go up the other end and score to win the game. As the centre pass was taken it was intercepted by KWP who frantically went up the other end and scored. With only twenty seconds left KWP had the chance to win the game and that's exactly what they did, which was harsh on Oldham who had played so well, but massive credit to KWP who held their nerve when it seemed they were beaten.

Results

Kingsway Power (10) Vs Oldham NC (9)

Leeds Athletic (12) Vs TTNC (2)

5th-8th Play-Offs

Results

Sutton Town (8) Vs Ellesmere Port (3) - 5th-6th

NW Sapphires (9) Vs Magic NC (6) - 7th-8th

3rd-4th Play-Off

Oldham NC (10) Vs Leeds Athletic (6)

Final

After Leeds Athletic condemned Kingsway Power to their first defeat ever in the group stages the audience inside the arena were intrigued to see if they could replicate that performance in the final. Kingsway Power started fast and looked determined to win this game this time around and found themselves 4-0 up within minutes. Going into halve time the score was 6-1 and with only six minutes to go it looked like too much of a tough ask for Leeds Athletic to get back into the game. Leeds did improve in the second half, but damage had already been done and Kingsway Power were crowned the ENG U12 Netball Cup 2023 National Champions.

Result

Kingsway Power (9) Vs Leeds Athletic (5)

Awards

1st: Kingsway Power

2nd: Leeds Athletic

3rd: Oldham NC

4th: TTNC

Most Valuable Player

Bella Walker - Oldham NC

All Stars

Zara Hossack (TTNC)

Isla James (Magic NC)