Celtic Dragons celebrate pride round in an exciting, closely fought match, but just missed out getting three points.
From start to finish, this round 14 Pride match was full of momentum changes. With the exception of the first quarter, the game consisted of Saracens Mavericks gaining a slight lead followed by Celtic Dragons fighting back to level the game and repeated for sixty minutes.
Despite Dragons finding themselves three goals down half-way through the first quarter, intercepts by Ella Powell-Davies and rebounds snatched by Shaquanda Greene-Noel saw them take the lead going into the second quarter.
From the second quarter onwards, the visitors took control of the match. At the start of quarter two, the defensive pairing of Razia Quashie and Jodie Gibson for Mavericks worked well, and they won crucial ball for their side, giving Saracens Mavericks a five-goal lead with five minutes remaining in the quarter.
The momentum changed as Hannah Leighton and Annabel Roddy won ball for Celtic Dragons, reducing the deficit to three goals heading into the second half.
Mavericks shifted the momentum, as they gained a five-goal advantage once again. Dragons stopped this momentum shift quickly as they as they got within one goal. The Green Army at House of Sport began to get loud as they willed their side to level the game, but Mavericks didn’t let that happen and kept their three-goal lead at the end of the third quarter.
The final quarter saw the momentum continue to shift from Mavericks to Dragons and back to Mavericks again in what was an exciting end to the first of two Pride Rounds. Dragons repeatedly levelled the score but couldn’t get the lead they needed for a win.
In the final minutes of the match, Mavericks extended their lead from the second and third quarters to win round 14 by five goals.
