Bradley Stoke Netball Club’s First Team took on local rivals Chipping Sodbury in Division 1 on Saturday morning at UWE. It was a hard fought game with both teams giving their all. Despite a strong second quarter from Bradley Stoke they went in at half time 24-17 down.
Chipping Sodbury, however, extended their lead in the third quarter but were stopped from running away with the match by some superb defending by Sophie Keen.
Bradley Stoke fought back in the final quarter but loose passing and some strong Sodbury defence around the circle gave them too big a mountain to climb. The final score finished 42-37 to Chipping Sodbury.
A good performance from the second team – again they started slowly and had a really strong 3rd and 4th quarter. When the game finished the score was 33-26 in the opposition’s favour. Their coach said:
“It really feels like were starting to gel, so bring on the rest of the season!”
The “player award” went to Jeni Jones. “Players’ player” was awarded to Nic Baynton.
Elsewhere, the club’s U14 team took part in a seeding tournament on Sunday. The girls all played very well in “rubbish” conditions. They won two games and lost seven. This was, however, their first game of the season.
Football: BSTFC A lose cup match on penalties
Drama on the Jubilee field as Bradley Stoke Town FC’s A Team got knocked out of the GFA Minor Cup on penalties! By Fishponds Athletic 3-3 (4-5)
Playing Fishponds, who are in a higher division, was always going to be tough but Bradley Stoke declared their intentions with a promising first 35 mins which ended with a goal from Paul Zambrzycki. Fishponds instantly hit back to even the score and got another just after the second half started. With the score 2-1 in Fishpond’s favour they tried to close out the game but superb strike from Mike Fry hit the underside of the crossbar leaving a simple tap in for Adam Townsend.
Fishponds’ third goal was a gift from a misdirected header straight into the striker’s path. Time was running out and Bradley Stoke put everyone up, including keeper/manager Mark Wilkes, for the final corner. It was cleared to the side of the pitch but quick-thinking Wilkes launched in the throw and Sam Cleaver scored the goal to take the tie to penalties.
Unfortunately, although tense and dramatic, it wasn’t to be and Fishponds took the win.
On the other field of the Jubilee, Bradley Stoke B team were playing Stockwood Wanderers Reserves. A seven goal thriller sadly didn’t go their way as the final score ended 4-3 to the visitors. A momentary collapse in the Bradley Stoke defence saw Stockwood come back from a 1-0 lead that Bradley Stoke had earned. The Bradley Stoke goal scorers were Mo Amin, Matt Burch and Dan Pickering.
The Bradley Stoke Sport Report is written by 15-year-old Connor Summers, who hosts a weekly Sports Show on Bradley Stoke Radio (BSR). Listen to Connor’s radio show from 6pm every Sunday.
If you would like to see your club’s news and/or match reports appear in future editions of the Bradley Stoke Sport Report, please email your contribution to our newsdesk by 6pm on a Monday.
