BUCS Preliminaries 2018/19
EVI'S ON FIRE, YOUR DEFENCE IS TERRIFIED EVI'S ON FIRE! Well that was a fun day wasn't it! In case you've been living in a bubble over the last couple of weeks you'll know that this weekend was BUCS weekend. The time of year we all can't wait for. This year we had two teams as well, our korf family really is growing rapidly.
Both Uni 1 and 2 were in Pool C along with Strathclyde. Uni 1 were up against Strath first and after a really tight few minutes, Strath came out on top with a 2-1 win. An incredibly close game that could have gone either way. Uni 2 then had to face them and put on a valiant display but also succumbed to defeat but both performances showed a lot of promise.
Then we faced each other. I can honestly say it was a very weird scenario and the NEKL uni 1 vs uni 2 is going to be even weirder. Uni 1 ran out winners in a 9-1 win with Chan scoring the first ever uni 2 BUCS goal!
This meant that heading into the afternoon we knew Uni 2 would be heading off to Northern Qualifiers and Uni 1 would need to win against at least one of Ed Uni 2 and Northumbria to secure a place at regionals.
Uni 2 kicked our afternoon off and James P was unstoppable, scoring 3 in quick succession and providing a great platform for us to go on and win 5-2. Uni 1 then faced off against Ed Uni 2, a BUCS foe on many an occasion last year. The game was again very tight and every score was followed up more or else instantly by a response. We held our nerve though and bagged a place at regionals with a 6-5 win.
All that was missing now was to see what our final placings would be. Uni 2 took on Ed Uni 3 and lost after some nasty injuries. Mary taken to hospital for a potential broken wrist (she's all good now don't worry! Just a really really bad sprain so knowing her she'll declare herself fit in a week), James doing something weird and wacky to his toe (as yet undiagnosed) and Ellie with a monstrous migraine had to come off. So given we played most of the game with only 3 girls we didn't do bad. Uni 2 finished 8th and I was a very proud coach. Amazing to see how quickly they have come on in such a short space of time. Shoutout to Laura, Jenny and James P who were amazing, Jack for his best performances in a Newcastle shirt yet and James O and Matt for running around like headless chickens, covering every inch of the court.
Uni 1 then were to finish the day with a game against the old rivals Northumbria. ( 150 miles, an overnight trip and a very cheesy playlist just to play a team a 10 minute walk away!) We were buoyed on by our extra supporters and everyone played brilliantly, finishing up 12-4 winners. Pretty much everyone on the pitch contributed to the scoreline and Chris bagged a few penalties to add some gloss to the score.
Congratulations to Evi who bagged herself:
Female MVP
Female Top Scorer
Overall Top Scorer
You will be sorely missed at regionals!
Also a mention to Wilbert who donned a Newcastle shirt for the last time today before he heads off back to the Netherlands permanently after Christmas. You have given us some great memories and you'll always be welcome back!
See you tomorrow for Uni 1 vs Uni 2!