On an overcast October afternoon, the Psycho's took on the Dietitians in the sports centre. Whilst seven dietitians donned green bibs, the Psycho's were a player down, with only six team members for the entirety of the match.
The Psycho's won the first centre, and gradually established a small 2-0 lead over their opponents. The Dietitians then managed to get the ball into the circle, but failed to score, allowing the Psycho's to ease ahead.
However, this lead was not to last. As soon as Dietitian GS Annie Bolle-Jones got her eye in, they pulled away, establishing an easy 4-10 lead by half time. The Dietitians, a relatively new squad, worked well to bring the ball down the court, with great feeds from Charlotte Hill at centre and Kat Riley at WA into the circle to Bolle-Jones and GA, Mary Arnold.
Despite the scoreline, the Psychos played incredibly well, considering they were a player down. Not having a WA meant centre Abbi Roberts and GA Holly Martindale had to work extremely hard to even get the ball into their attacking third, relying on WD Emily Easton and GD Anya Moore to come out to receive the centre pass. When in the third it was tricky as Roberts was double marked, and the ball often had to be recycled back into the middle third to get play going again.
The Dietitians capitalised on their free player, marking the Psycho's tightly, and making great use of high balls into the circle, which the Psycho's struggled to defend. Great shooting from both Bolle-Jones and Arnold made the final score 6-20.
Psycho's captain Abbi Roberts, said that for their ‘first proper game’, she was impressed with their performances, especially considering that they were a player down for the duration of the match. The Dietitians coach, Lucy Burden, said she was ‘looking forward to the season ahead’ with the squad.
