Dubai English Speaking College travelled to Dubai College in DASSA Division One netball action on Monday afternoon with the sides hoping to build on strong starts to the season.
Both teams have started the term well, with Dubai College A taking maximum points from their first two games against Dubai College B and The English College, while Dubai English Speaking College have also picked six points in matches against Jumeirah College and The English College.
Dubai College started the match without a number of key players who were competing at Sports City in the DASSA Athletics Championships during the afternoon but the girls that were in attendance competed well in a first quarter which saw a fairly even split of 15 goals.
The DESC side was also depleted due to a busy week of sports action and with only seven girls and no substitutes in black and red, tiredness began to take its toll as the first half progressed in the Dubai sunshine.
The second quarter saw Dubai College make the most of some good opportunities within the DESC defensive third and by the half time whistle DC found themselves ahead by six goals.
Half time: Dubai College 17-11 Dubai English Speaking College
The match was high in quality with both teams looking to stay at the top end of the DASSA Division One table. A number of great passing moves from both sides meant that the goals continued to flow throughout the third quarter.
However, it was DESC who made the most of their third-period pressure, an excellent ten minutes of goal-scoring meaning they significantly cut the half time deficit – going into the fourth-quarter only two goals behind their Dubai College counterparts.
In the final quarter of the match Dubai English Speaking College continued to cause their hosts problems, but it was Dubai College who managed to pull away to secure an important three points.
A number of strong performances in the middle and final thirds meant that Dubai College managed to see out an impressive victory against an astute DESC team.
Full time: Dubai College 31-27 Dubai English Speaking College
Speaking after the match, Dubai College Under 18’s coach Ms Donovan said she was pleased with her side’s victory over DESC this afternoon.
“It was very close, closer than I was expecting actually. [DESC] are a strong team this season and we’ve dominated the under 18’s for a long time so it was nice to have a good close match today.”
“I think the crunch match for us will be JESS, that will be the decider. We have beaten most of the other under 18’s teams a few weeks ago at a tournament so we are fairly confident but JESS were the next closest – competition-wise – for us,” she said.
Despite the victory and an important three points in the DASSA Division One, Donovan says that there is still room for improvement as the season progresses.
We need to improve our consistency; our shooters were a little off today so I think it’ll be under the post for them but otherwise I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”
A full image gallery from the DASSA Division One netball match between Dubai College and Dubai English Speaking College will be available at www.gulfyouthsport.com shortly.