Celtic Dragons Preparing For Team Bath Netball Challenge

Celtic Dragons are ready for the Team Bath challenge on Saturday.

The teams haven’t played each other since round one in February and Dragons are fired up for a big effort.

Head coach Trish Wilcox and her team are intent on bouncing back quickly from their 50-59 home defeat against Severn Stars from Worcester.

“We’re bitterly disappointed with the result,” said Dragons player of the match Bethan Dyke. “We keep saying we need to be consistent, but we also did some really good things. Our aim must be to do those for longer periods of the quarters.

“It was a highly physical game, so I think our change of direction with short-and-sharp play and our through-court attack was really good.  We’ll take that into the game against Bath on Saturday.”

Dragons missed out against Stars in round ten of the Vitality Netball Superleague.

Spirits were high after a first home win against Sirens the previous and excitement was building ahead of a re-match against Severn Stars.

The match began with both teams with their foot on the accelerator.

Stars took the lead, but Dragons challenged the visitors and were right behind them by one goal at the end of the quarter after a late surge in the green defence.

Dragons defence kept their momentum going into the second quarter and the attack worked patiently along the circle edge.

Though they were still chasing, Dragons executed enough pressure to stay within two to three goals. The second half of the quarter became much more physical as the Stars aimed to establish a more comfortable lead.

The score at half-time reflected a close, tense match with Stars leading 27-31.

The third quarter saw a big shift in momentum from the Dragons. Defence was tighter than ever with players driving out for interceptions and forcing Stars to make errors on their way down the court towards goal.

A quick change of players also led to more movement in the Dragons shooting circle.

Shooters Lydia Hitchings and Kalifa McCollin worked determinedly to perfect their positions ready for the feeds.

Tireless work from all corners of the court and the Dragons were within one goal once more.

A stubborn Severn Stars team did not make it easy, though, and they capitalised on unforced errors by Dragons to make it 38-42 going into the final quarter.

Severn Stars put their foot on the gas in the final quarter and with less than two minutes left on the clock they were ahead by seven goals.  Despite a firm fight by the Dragons the visitors broke through and took the win by nine goals.

Green Army supporters will be back for the next home game on Saturday, April 29 for a match against Manchester Thunder. It will be a busy weekend for Dragons as they also take on Hertfordshire Mavericks on Monday, May 1.

Tickets are on sale now via www.ticketline.co.uk