Match Reports
League Match Reports 2010/2011
Thursday 2nd June
At the culmination of some eight months of fantastic netball, the same teams as last year played in the two final matches on Modi'in's outside court. With ambitious plans to move to a full international size, properly marked court next season, this was probably the last time that league matches would be played here. The level of play has improved significantly since the league began and spectators and players were once again treated to a wonderful evening of netball.
Final: Ra'anana vs Ma'aleh Adumim
For the second year running, Ra'anana proved to be the strongest team. Although Ma'aleh Adumim fought very hard, they could not equal their opponents' skill across the court.
Playing for the Ra'anana team, Ashleigh Werner, Gilah Cohen, Carol Levin and her daughter Michal all demonstrated their wonderful shooting skills.
The scores were 10-5 and 21-11 in the first half, 35-23 in the third quarter, and 48-33 at the final whistle.
3rd and 4th place: Modi'in vs Jerusalem Mercaz
After only three years since the club was first formed, Modi'in made their dream of being among the Israel Netball League medal-winners come true.
They started off very strongly in the first quarter scoring 14 goals against Jerusalem's 3. Jerusalem put on a much better showing in the second and third quarters scoring 7 and 9 goals respectively to Modi'in's 8 and 6, but the last quarter definitely belonged to Modi'in when they outplayed their rivals to bring the final score to 39-21.
Sunday 29th May
Ra'anana vs Jerusalem Mercaz
There was no sparkle in Ra'anana's play against Jerusalem Mercaz last night.
With several of their players injured as already mentioned in a previous report, Jerusalem has sometimes been hard-pressed to put a team together. Nevertheless they managed to hold the league leaders to relatively low scores, so much so that in the third quarter they scored one more goal than their rivals.
That said, there was never any doubt that Ra'anana was the superior team, with the scoresheet showing these results from the four quarters: 10-2, 15-2, 19-7 and 27-10.
Ma'aleh Adumim vs Modi'in
In contrast, there were a good number of times when it looked as if the third-ranked home team might possibly beat their Ma'aleh Adumim rivals, or at least tie with them!
Ma'aleh Adumim quickly drew ahead in the first quarter to score 10 goals to Modi'in's 4 and still had a lead of 5 goals at the end of the first half with a score of 18-13.
Once again Mishy's height proved to be a great advantage for Modi'in against their opponents' defence, but not enough to prevent the faster team from bringing the score to 29-22 in the third quarter. The final quarter saw every head turning to the scoreboard each time a goal was scored, and although Modi'in scored double the number of goals that Ma'aleh Adumim scored, the result was a 34-30 win for the away team who will meet Ra'anana in the finals on Thursday 2nd June. Promises to be a great match!
Thursday 19th May
Jerusalem Mercaz vs Tel Aviv
Wow, what an exciting match! The very first draw since the league started almost two years ago.
The newest club Tel Aviv, sponsored by Yoram Limudim, fought the veteran Jerusalem club for the fourth place in the playoffs that are scheduled for May 29th.
Although Jerusalem was ahead by 2 goals in the first half with first- and second-quarter scores of 7-5 and 12-10 respectively, Tel Aviv put up a tremendous fight and even managed to overtake them a couple of times within the second half. Jerusalem, however, had no intention of letting their opponents beat them and Nomi Komar's fabulous shooting skills kept them level with the Tel Avivians with a score of 17-17 at the end of the third quarter and 24-24 at the final whistle.
Despite not making the playoffs, the Tel Aviv players have improved immensely since they started out and are a great credit to their coaches/managers Rachelle Stern and Roni Kresner.
Warning to the other clubs: watch out for Tel Aviv next season!
Ra'anana vs Modi'in
With the two Australian players Ashleigh Werner and Manthy Gentin to enhance their game even more, Ra'anana pulled out all the stops to make up for their previous defeat against the home team and raced ahead to a score of 16-2 by the end of the first quarter.
Taking advantage of Ra'anana'a significant slow-down in the second quarter, Modi'in demonstrated their defiance by preventing their opponents from scoring more than 8 goals to their 5. But there was no stopping the current league leaders in the second half when they scored a total of 30 goals to Modi'in's 9; the score at the end of the third quarter was 40-11, and when the final whistle blew the scoreboard showed 54-16.
These results mean that in the playoffs Ra'anana will face Jerusalem Mercaz and Modi'in will take on Ma'aleh Adumim.
Thursday 12th May
Ra'anana vs Ma'aleh Adumim
Once again the Ra'anana ladies put on a wonderful display of netball on the entire court, this time against their closest rivals, Ma'aleh Adumim. By the end of the first half they were 16 goals ahead with a score of 23-7, having taken the first quarter by 12-5. Ma'aleh Adumim's play improved significantly in the second half, when their tallest player Sarah Loescher took to the court, and they scored 9 goals to Ra'anana's 7.
The final score of 39-22 earned J-town 1 point for scoring more than half their opponents' number of goals, but Ra'anana still remains firmly at the head of the league standings.
Modi'in vs Tel Aviv
Everybody knows that height is far from the only factor in being a skilled netballer, but it most certainly helps if you have it! Despite their very best efforts, the Tel Aviv defence were hard-pressed to prevent tall Michelle (Mishy) Anne from receiving passes into the circle and shooting, or from getting the rebound again and again.
Taking the first quarter by 13-7 and the second by 26-10, the Modi'in team played extremely well. The exciting third quarter, notably when Modi'in's Tal Segev was not on court, saw the Tel Aviv team scoring goal after goal and there were some worried looking faces on the Modi'in bench when the scoreboard showed 30-24! The home team did however go on to win the game with a score of 37-29.
Despite their loss that evening, the honour of scoring the highest number of goals (14) in a quarter went to Tel Aviv.
Thursday 5th May
Both the Modi'in and Ma'aleh Adumim teams played very well but Ma'aleh Adumim proved to be better than the home team, particularly in the first half when they scored double the number of their opponents' goals in both the first (12-6) and second (24-12) quarters.
The Modi'in girls are a determined lot, however, and they improved in the second half. In the third quarter they scored 6 goals to Ma'aleh Adumim's 7, and although they even outscored their rivals in the last quarter by 10 goals to 9, that was not sufficient to overtake the stronger team who won the match by 40-28.
Three of Jerusalem's most experienced players - Tsipi, Susie and Yehudit - are injured and their absence was definitely felt when their team-mates took on last year's league winners, Ra'anana.
In the first quarter, Ra'anana raced ahead to score 18 goals to Jerusalem's 3. Scoring a further 9 goals in the second quarter to their opponents' single goal, Ra'anana were up by 25 goals at the end of the first half. Jerusalem made a truly valiant effort in the third quarter when Ra'anana only managed to increase their lead by 4 goals bringing the score to 35-6. The final quarter ended with an impressive 48-8 victory for the Ra'anana team.
Thursday 28th April
The vagaries of the spring weather this April prompted the change of venue for the season's second Tel Aviv-Ra'anana league match. Hoping to repeat their wonderful performance of the previous match against the veteran team, the Tel Aviv players, sponsored by Yoram Limudim, hosted Ra'anana at their new sports hall.
The low score (6-1) at the end of the first quarter testified to both teams' nervousness, but then Ra'anana pulled ahead scoring a further 8 goals to Tel Aviv's 3 in the second quarter. Ra'anana scored goal after goal in the next quarter bringing the score to 27-6, and went on to win the match by 34-8. All the Ra'anana netballers played extremely well and special mention should be made of their Israeli-born centre court players Sharon Moatty and Shira Shika.
Thursday 31st March
Those who were present at the matches between Modi'in and Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv and Ma'aleh Adumim were treated to two hours of great excitement with all four teams playing great netball.
There was only one goal between Modi'in and Jerusalem at the end of the first quarter (8-7), and Jerusalem scored double the number of Modi'in's goals in the second (12-15). Determined not to be beaten by the team who have been playing together for some 15 years, Modi'in outscored the Jerusalem ladies by 13 goals to 9 in the third quarter again bringing the score to a one-goal difference of 25-24. The fierce opposition by the Jerusalem players did not break Modi'in's resolve to win and the scoreboard showed 36-32 at the final whistle, earning Jerusalem two points in the standings for being within 5 goals of their opponents' score.
Ma'aleh Adumim had to work very hard to retain their natural edge over Israel Netball's newest member Tel Aviv, who are sponsored by Yoram Limudim. The relatively low score of 7-2 at the end of the first quarter showed how much the Tel Aviv team has improved, particularly since they have been playing on their new full-sized indoor court since the beginning of the month. Scoring 9 goals to Ma'aleh Adumim's 5 in the second quarter - meaning there was only one goal between the two teams (12-11) - Tel Aviv continued to impress everyone watching the match.
The third and fourth quarters, however, belonged to Ma'aleh Adumim when they increased and held their lead with scores of 24-17 and 33-23 respectively. This very respectable final score gives Tel Aviv another well-deserved point in the standings.
Both Modi'in and Ma'aleh Adumim are currently joint leaders in the standings, although Ra'anana still have not played their fifth game!
Wednesday 2nd February
Last night's win by Ra'anana over Ma'aleh Adumim fulfilled the promise made at the beginning of this season that competition for the gold medal would be much fiercer!
The game started quite evenly with both teams missing several shots but Ra'anana were 4 goals up at the end of the first quarter (8-4). Both sides exhibited excellent play over the entire court, and in total both teams scored 17 goals each in the second and third quarters (15-12 and 25-21) and at one point there was only a one-goal difference. With all eyes constantly turning to the scoreboard in the last quarter, Ra'anana scored one goal after another and succeeded in pulling ahead to a final score of 37-28.
As a result, the standings at the end of the first round show that three teams are neck-and-neck at the top of the league table: Ra'anana with 17 points and 16 points apiece to both Ma'aleh Adumim and Modi'in.
Thursday 27th January
Tel Aviv, sponsored by Yoram Limudim, succeeded in scoring the first five goals in their match against Modi'in. Realising that this was not going to be a walkover, the home team pulled their socks up and brought the first quarter to a tie of 7 goals each, and easily managed to outplay the Tel Avivians in the second quarter bringing the score to 19-10 at half-time. Displaying some excellent centre court play, Tel Aviv scored 6 goals to Modi'in's 7, and 7 goals to their opponents' 9 in the third and fourth quarters respectively, bringing the final score to 23-35.
Footnote: I have it on good authority that Jodi had not originally planned to play all four quarters but changed her mind when she saw how strong the competition was!
Wednesday 12th January
Ra'anana's team could not get into their stride in the first few minutes of this match, and although they scored 8 goals to Tel Aviv's 5 by the end of the first quarter, the Tel Aviv ladies certainly looked as if they had a reasonable chance of beating the veteran team. The second quarter was a little better for Ra'anana with great interplay in the shooting circle between the GA Gilah Cohen and the GS Michal Levin, and the first half finished with a score of 16-9. Tel Aviv played very well in the third quarter, prevented their opponents from shooting (no goals were scored by either side for the first 5 minutes!) and held the Ra'anana team to a 3-goal tie bringing the score to 19-12.
The final quarter was hard fought by both teams, but despite Lauren Isaacs' accuracy and Dalia Shapira's much improved skills in the circle, Ra'anana managed to retain their edge and went on to win the match by 27-18. Tel Aviv won themselves a well-deserved point in the league standings for scoring more than half the number of goals scored by their rivals. Well done Tel Aviv! Ra'anana, we need to do better...
Tuesday 11th January
Rain, the only valid reason for postponing league matches, prevented play last Thursday in Modi'in. Ma'aleh Adumim's match against Jerusalem Mercaz was played instead in Ma'aleh Adumim and tomorrow night, at their home court, Ra'anana will face Tel Aviv.
No-one expected the older players of the Jerusalem Mercaz team to beat their highly skilled red T-shirted opponents, and indeed the scores of 11-3, 21-9, 35-15 at the end of the first three quarters and a final score of 52-20 were not surprising.
In particular, several very tall players on the Ma'aleh Adumim team ensured not only that Jerusalem's play was hindered but also that the rebounds from any missed shots by the "reds" were easily caught and shot again.
However, the Jerusalem ladies have been playing together for many years, and although overall they were not up to the same standard, some of their team and individual play was really brilliant and a joy to watch; all in all, a very pleasurable and good-spirited match!
Thursday 16th December
Looking to continue their winning streak, Modi'in took the court with confidence against the Jerusalem ladies and were up by 4 goals at the end of the first quarter with a score of 13-9, and by the same amount at half-time, 19-15. Increasing their lead to 28-20 in the third quarter, the Modi'in team played less well in the last quarter allowing the experienced Jerusalem netballers to almost draw level with them to the great excitement of the spectators. However the Modi'in team just managed to keep ahead and when the final whistle blew, the scoreboard showed 33-32, gaining Modi'in a further 5 points in the standings, while Jerusalem won 2 points for their efforts.
The Tel Aviv team, sponsored by Yoram Limudim, did not expect to win against the stronger and taller Ma'aleh Adumim team which boasts a number of national players. Missing two of their shooters, the Tel Avivians put up a brave fight but were outplayed throughout the game although the number of goals they scored did increase in each successive quarter. The scores were 7-1, 22-3, 34-7 and 43-13.
Thursday 25th November
The Tel Aviv Netball team, sponsored by Yoram Limudim, held their ground well against the Jerusalem Mercaz team in the first quarter and were down by only two goals at 7-5. However the long and accurate passes of the Jerusalemites enabled them to forge ahead in the second and third quarters with scores of 15-6 and 25-7. In the last quarter, Tel Aviv scored more goals than Jerusalem and the score at the final whistle was 28-12.
It should be noted that Tel Aviv continues to wait for permission from the municipality to move to their brand-new indoor court while still holding their practices on a small outdoor basketball court. Their performance indicates that we can certainly expect much improved play when their new full-sized venue finally becomes available.
In what was probably the most thrilling match since the league began, Modi'in won against last season's top team, Ra'anana. In the first two quarters, Modi'in outperformed the Ra'anana players with scores of 10-6 and 18-13. The very exciting third quarter saw Ra'anana making up lost ground with the last 6 goals being scored alternately by each team, to the delight of the spectators, bringing the score to 21-21. But it was Modi'in's night and they all played well, deserving their win of 31-27.
Now playing for Modi'in, Jodi Carreira and Tal Segev exhibited their usual excellent shooting and defence skills, while Ra'anana can proudly boast a new shooting star, Rachel Lebor.
The 2010/2011 Israel Netball league season got off to a great start on Thursday 4th November. This season promises to be at least as thrilling as last year's with some interesting player swaps in the different teams. Gold-medal holders Ra'anana have lost a number of their top players to both Modi'in and Ma'aleh Adumim and this was reflected in the first match between these two teams.
Modi'in's game improved significantly and they held Ma'aleh Adumim to 10-7 at the end of the first quarter and were down by only one goal, 14-15, at the end of the first half. Ma'aleh Adumim's more aggressive play and greater stamina put them in the lead in the third quarter, 26-18, and they went on to win by 35-25, giving Modi'in 1 point for scoring more than half the number of the opposing team's goals.
The second match with Ra'anana playing Jerusalem Mercaz was less exciting and the first quarter, in which the tall Ra'anana defence players prevented Jerusalem from scoring, was quite disappointing as shown by the score of 6-0. The Ra'anana team played much better in the second and third quarters with scores of 17-2 and 28-5 respectively. Ra'anana won the match with a final score of 34-10.