POOLE WIN
DEBUT U11
CHAMP FINALS
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Poole NC won the ENG U11 YNPL Championship Finals at the Oxstalls Arena in Gloucester. This was the debut competition for this particular age group and was a massive success. All teams gave a fantastic account of themselves.
Quarter-Finals
Poole NC entered this event as the competition favourites due to their U11 YNPL Southern Conference performances. They started the event well with a comfortable win over Wyre. Leeds Athletic, who were also tipped to do well in the event, had to dig deep against Wodson Park. Until halftime, Wodson Park found themselves more than in the game, but Leeds managed to up the temp in the second half and go on and win.
Magic NC was superb in the opening fixture against Altrincham. A tough Altrincham side made Magic work for their win, and they were only six points down going into the final quarter. Magic produced a fantastic final quarter display to seal the win and move into the semi-finals. Finally, Shan and Grangetown played out the most exciting quarter-final tie. Shan led the entire game in each quarter but only by a maximum of three points. Grantetown, the favourites based on their league position, tried so hard to turn the game around, but in the end, the South London team won and set up a semi-final tie against Poole NC.
Results
Leeds Athletic 20) Vs Wodson Park (11)
Grangetown NC (19) Vs Shan NC (23)
Magic NC (27) Vs Altrincham NC (19)
Poole NC (41) Vs Wyre NC (18)
5th-8th Play-Offs
Wodson Park impressed in their opening game against netball powerhouse Leeds Athletic. They then took on Altrincham and performed superbly. A solid performance saw them advance to the 5th-6th play-off finals after a convincing 19-9 win.
Grangetown bounced back after their loss to Shan with a win over Wyre. Wyre led by one goal at the halfway point, but in the second half, Grangetown upped the gears and recorded a comfortable victory.
Results
Grangetown NC (25) Vs Wyre NC (18)
Wodson Park (19) Vs Altrincham NC (9)
Semi-Finals
Magic were the underdogs against Leeds Atheltic based on their overall league position. You wouldn't have thought it through in the first four minutes as Magic ran riot, going up an incredible 6-0. Once Leeds settled, they worked their way back into the game and finished the first quarter 6-4, much to the frustration of the Magic coach. The game became evenly matched, with Magic maintaining a four-point lead going into the third quarter. The third quarter was the decisive one for both teams. After working hard initially to get back into the game, Leeds crumbled in the third quarter and allowed Magic to go eleven points clear heading into the final quarter. This was too much of a mountain to climb for Leeds, and they had to settle for a 3rd/4th play-off game.
Shan NC started well against Poole and was one point up after the first quarter. The team that finished seventh in the Southern Conference could defy the odds and make it to the final. In some cases, losing positions makes teams less confident, but in Poole's case, Shan had poked the lion, and in the second quarter, Poole started to turn on the style. After losing in the opening quarter, they were now five points ahead at halftime. The rest of the game saw Poole dominate, and they secured a place in the final against fellow Southern Conference rivals Magic NC.
Results
Poole NC (34) Vs Shan NC (14)
Magic NC (24) Vs Leeds Athletic (14)
5th-8th Play-Off Finals
Wodson finished an incredible day for them as they defeated Grangetown in the 5th-6th play-off final. A dominant performance throughout saw them come fifth overall in the event and thirtieth overall in the 2024/25 season.
Altrincham recaptured the form of their first game against Magic to win comprehensively over Wyre. This was their first-ever win at the YNPL National Finals.
7th-8th Play-Off
Altrincham NC (26) Vs Wyre NC (17)
5th-6th Play-Off
Wodson Park (19) Vs Grangetown NC (11)
3rd-4th Play-Off
It was a great game to end the tournament for Leeds Athletic and Shan NC, who had been comprehensively defeated in the semi-finals. After Shan went ahead in the first quarter, Leeds responded by going ahead by one point at the halfway point. An excellent third quarter saw them extend that lead. Leeds stayed strong despite Shan pushing to turn the game around, and they secured the bronze medals.
3rd-4th Play-Off
Leeds Athletic (17) Vs Shan NC (14)
Final
Poole NC had beaten Magic earlier in the season, so it would be interesting to see if Magic could get revenge at the most perfect time. After a goal-for-goal start, Poole went in after the first quarter 10-5 up, leaving Magic with a mountain to climb.
As the quarters went by, Poole continued to improve the score, leaving anyone in no doubt who the champions were going to be. In the end, Poole won the event and became the first team in YNPL history to win the Grand Finals and Championship Finals since the competition started in 2021.
All-Stars - Scarlett Sabey (Wodson Park), Molly Skerry (Grangetown NC, Isabelle Sherwood (Wyre NC), Florence Edwards (Altrincham NC), Drew Deacon (Shan NC), Connie Cook (Magic NC), Camilla Saffer (Leeds Athletic), Isla Jones (Poole NC)
MVP - Sienna Gover (Poole NC)