Head coach Linda Andrews had nothing but praise for her side as they banished their second-tier demons at Fort Regent, and as Jets claimed their first win of the season against a side who finished sixth last term they rid themselves of the unwanted ‘bottom of the table’ tag.
Team Jets: 77.9%.
Pitman 78.7% (26 from 33 attempts); Holmes 77.1% (27/35).
Grangetown: 71.6% (38/53).
Early signs looked ominous for the Islanders as they slipped 6-3 behind in the opening minutes, but a seven-goal swing was soon to follow and they changed over with a four goal cushion in hand.
And it got substantially better from there.
Middlesbrough-based Grangetown, who missed just once in the opening quarter, simply could not contend with Jets after the break, and as their shooting accuracy dropped to just 57 per cent for the second 15-minute period the visitors were duly punished.
Jacy Brown – a contender for player of the match – gave her rivals a lesson in speed and agility as she controlled the mid-court, while shooters Lynsey Pitman – who was given the nod for the playing honours – and Sophie Holmes ran rings around the opposition defence.
| P | W | L | D | GAv | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tameside | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.59 | 20 |
| Ryland | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.35 | 20 |
| Kent County | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1.16 | 16 |
| Worcester Reds | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.9 | 12 |
| Clan | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.88 | 12 |
| Premier Romans | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.9 | 9 |
| Team Jets | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.85 | 9 |
| Telstars | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.85 | 9 |
| Thoroughbreds | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.81 | 9 |
| Grangetown | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.94 | 8 |
Josie Le Masurier and Lauren Devine were back to their turnover-taking ways in defence, and although Grangetown did nick one back in the third (they won the penultimate quarter 12-11), Pitman ensured the comfortable margin was maintained in the fourth with nine goals from ten attempts.
‘We’ve worked so hard on through-court attack and through-court defence, and there were moments where it was just perfect today,’ said Andrews post-match. ‘And the second quarter was sensational; we just blew them away.
‘We weren’t ever going to be standing still on the court, because the moment you stand still they’re going to be at you, and that worked out well for us.’
Following that brilliance, Brown discussed how the success highlights Jets’ continued ability to adjust to a rise in standards.
‘This was our first game back with our starting seven all fit and ready to go, and we went out and treated our first quarter like it was our last, and that continued right through to the third quarter,’ said the former Scotland international. ‘Fortunately because we were so strong and totally took on Grangetown in the first half our errors in the third and fourth weren’t game changing.
‘We do still need to work on giving 60 minutes at that level, but it’s good that we’ve finally found our feet and shown that we can contend at this level.’
Starting 7: Josie Le Masurier, Lauren Devine, Lisa Luce, Jacy Brown, Abbie Hazley, Lynsey Pitman, Sophie Holmes. Subs: Georgia Hickey, Ebony Troy. Unused: Jenna Meredith, Rosie Tonner, Emma Carré.
