WESTBURY made home advantage count as they got off to a good start with some strong defence by goal defence Zoe Van Helmond and goalkeeper Emma Gifford Pike allowing them to win the first few centres and take the lead.

With Westbury's strong defence Bradford struggled to score in the first quarter which Westbury won 10-3.

In the second quarter Bradford pulled back a few goals to more than double their score, but Westbury continued to play well with some good passing across the centre court and finishing by goal shooter Jess Brisdon.

The third quarter saw Westbury extend their lead with some controlled passing around the attacking third between centre Lucy Gearing and wing attack Nadine Pearce. The final quarter saw Westbury continue on the attack and extend their lead.

Devizes 29, Chippenham A 28

A FULL Devizes squad turned out for the match allowing captain Sue Giles (goal shooter) to make some tactical changes to the line-up at half-time.

Goalkeeper Claire Robinson and goal defence Tracey Hinton displayed strong defensive play and wing defence Laura Brown showed skill and speed both in marking her opposition and turning the play over.

Centre George Bailey had another fantastic game providing a strong link between the defence and attack. Wing attack Chloe Brown worked hard to feed the ball into the circle.

Goal attack Becky Gaiger was on top form, moving well in and around the circle and capitalising on the attacking play with a successful shooting percentage.

Goalkeeper Becky Sedgewick and wing defence Caroline Oram came on at half-time. Both fitted into the team with ease, allowing the smooth flow of play to be uninterrupted.

From start to finish, the score was always tight and the result came down to a final quarter battle. Devizes showed excellent team work and support throughout. Brown, Bailey and Gaiger dominated the Devizes attacking third. and Gaiger and Giles moved well in the circle to open up opportunities to feed the ball in.

Division Three

Westbury 12, Corsham 25

THIS match got off to a fairly even start with both teams looking to take control.

There was plenty of play in the central areas with some good passing from Dee Weston, and intercepting by Westbury, leading to a low scoring first quarter.

The second quarter saw Corsham start to build a slight lead but with good defending from Linda Geddes and Rachel Pickford, Westbury were able to feed the ball up the court and thanks to some consistent shooting from Jo Bruton, Westbury were able to keep the goal difference down.

In the third quarter Westbury made some changes, with Rachel Ellis moving to wing attack from a central position and Rachael Jackson coming on as wing defence in place of Jane Wilson.

The play was fluent but Corsham were still getting the goals and a visible lead started to appear.

Linda Geddes moved to goal attack for this next quarter and Liz Winterbottom came on as goal defence. Westbury continued to fight on with good shooting from Sarah Chapman and Linda Geddes, who worked well together.

Westbury kept Corsham's scoring to a minimum in this quarter but time was running out, and despite a brave final effort, the game finished in Corsham's favour.