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Game of the week was undoubtedly the match between Kwiek and Mitcham. Both young teams had had ample opportunity to watch (and support) each other at the Europa Shield the previous week, and knew exactly what each others� strengths and weaknesses would be.
The game started at a furious pace, with both teams aiming to put full pressure on every pass and movement. Kate Wragg put Mitcham ahead with two quick goals after Vicky Woodgate left her free from mid range, but Kwiek were soon back in the game as Rebecca Clements took advantage of young Carina Lamelas�s inexperience around the basket to sneak in some cheeky shots.
Lamelas was able to put away a couple of good long shots in attack, but looked to be struggling in defence, and Mitcham switched Wragg to defend Clements; this did not completely solve the problem, however, as Clements continued to draw free passes from Mitcham fouls, and was deadly from the free pass spot as expected.
Experienced England international Ross Bower was initially able to find space to shoot against the young Adam Camies, but Camies� speed and tenacity gradually started to pay off in defence, while in attack he was creating some excellent chances of his own and finishing well.
The close individual match ups meant that neither side was able to gain much momentum � goals were only coming when one defender made a mistake. Neither side were able to pass the ball easily, and Kwiek's male players were using their awesome speed and athleticism to make interceptions, with Luke Francis seemingly all over the court at once chasing down loose balls.
The Kwiek female players were also starting to dominate their opponents, and CJ Francis in particular completely shut down Helen West. The first half ended with Mitcham 8-6 ahead, but everyone knew the game was still wide open. Kwiek came out in the second half with even more determination, and started to take extreme risks to disrupt the Mitcham attacks � this really paid off.
The teams traded goals, but gradually Kwiek�s energy and workrate started to give them the momentum, and Camies in particular started to open up some space in attack against Bower to put away some textbook mid range goals, scoring an impressive 6 in the match.
A great tussle between the power of Ben King and the speed of Francis ended with both players scoring three goals, but Francis was putting so much pressure on King�s shots that King's frustration started to mount.
Mitcham were clearly missing Dean Woods� calm authority and control at the post, so Coach Dave Synott brought himself on for Craig Gosling, in an effort to give the rest of the team confidence in the rebound, but the much shorter Kwiek boys refused to be intimidated by Synott.
The pace of the game never slowed, but Mitcham's error rate rose, and Kwiek continued to intercept create scoring chances regularly, to take the lead and then seal the victory 13-16. A fantastic game for the spectators, with both teams playing fast and exciting korfball, and Kwiek in particular pulling off some incredible moves and interceptions thanks to their athleticism and team work. Both teams remain contenders for top 4 finishes, but this performance will give Kwiek crucial confidence going into their remaining matches, while for Mitcham it is back to the drawing board.
Match Report courtesy of englandkorfball.co.uk. A full round up of week 9 of the Haven Sports Korfball League is available here.
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