After Newcastle’s women’s first team placed third in the Northern 1A league this season, they faced the Edinburgh thirds in the first round of the Trophy Cup. With a home match advantage, Newcastle were determined to go out strong with the hope in a win to secure a place in the next round. The Edinburgh girls turned up to the Northumberland Club ready take on the challenge after placing fourth in their Scottish league table.
First up was fourth seed player Tilly Humphreys who got stuck straight into the game with some tough rally’s managing to secure the first game 11/4. Feeling confident going into the second game, the Newcastle player stepped up the pace putting pressure on her opponent and taking the second game 1/3. The Edinburgh fourth seed started to slow down in the final game as Humphreys had a 7-0 lead. Newcastle’s determination to finish the match in three games was a success with the final game 11/2. This left Newcastle one-love up.
Next to take to the court was the third seed player. Julia Crowther from Newcastle, known for her hard-hitting strikes she did not disappoint in her game against Edinburgh. With some fantastic drives and attacking shots Crowther took the first game 11/5. The Edinburgh players had a team talk in between games which spurred their number 3 player to step up her game. Neither girls were willing to give up, in a battling point-by-point game. Pushing that little bit harder as well as having more strength, Newcastle secured the game 11/9. Crowther’s drive kicked in in the last game as she dominated the court making her opponent do circles around her. The final score was 11/4 meaning another 3-0 win.
Neither girls were willing to give up, in a battling point-by-point game
Second team player, Katherine Wilkins was next on court. The pressure was off the Newcastle team and on for the Edinburgh girls who needed to win the next two matches to get a place in the next round of the Trophy Cup. Second team Edinburgh player Brunt tried her best to apply pressure and defend Wilkins shots but was not a match for the Newcastle player who took the first game 11/1. The second game got even tougher for the Edinburgh thirds as Brunt went down 11/0. Eager to gain as many points for her team, the Edinburgh second player fought back putting in some great defending shots against some hard-hitting strikes. Unfortunately, this again wasn’t enough. Wilkins took the final game 11/2 meaning Newcastle were through to the next round of the competition.
Despite Newcastle already securing their place in the next round, the first seed players were still to go on. At this stage Edinburgh’s number 1 had to get as many points as possible against Newcastle’s Charlotte Cooper. In the first game Cooper scooped out her opponent’s weakness and used this to her advantage. After the first few points and a 2-2 tie, Cooper was allowing no mercy. Her deception and accurate playing won her the first game 11/2. In the next game, the Edinburgh player went on court with newly formed tactics to take on Newcastle. The Newcastle number 1 didn’t back down taking yet again another attacking form leaving Edinburgh on the defence. The score was 11/3. Cooper continued dominated the T in the third game and with some fantastic attacking cross courts the Edinburgh first seed didn’t stand a chance. The final game score was 11/1 with an overall match score of 3-0.
With all four Newcastle girls winning their matches 3-0 and not dropping a single game, this meant that they secured their place in the next round of the Trophy Cup. This match will take place again on home ground at the Northumberland Club on Wednesday 21 February.
