Poole NC won one of the most dramatic Netball Cup National Finals we’ve ever conducted. After finding themselves 10-6 down with three minutes to go against the No.1 team in the country, Oldham Red Kites, they managed to dramatically turn the game around after Isla Jones scored two Super Shots in a row.

 

Throughout the event, Poole never really had an easy game. Their opening game was against Ellesmere Port, and they had to work hard for their win against the Midlands Champions, pulling off a one-point win to earn a winning start.

 

Their next game against Sutton Town saw them one point up with seconds to go. A misplaced pass from the Poole player on the backline meant Penny Mitchell from Sutton Tow only had one choice, and that was to shoot a Super Shot, and it went straight in, which meant Poole lost their first game of the competition.

 

Their final Group Stages game saw them win comfortably against newcomers ANC All-Stars, which helped them stay second in the table on goal difference.

 

Poole played Starz in the seeding game to see which team qualified as either 5th or 6th heading into the Last 16. This game was also a warm-up in preparation for their league decider on April 19th. Once again, a close game saw Poole pushed to the limit, and the tie went to overtime after the score was 8-8 at the end of normal time. In overtime, they managed to get ahead and stay ahead, and they claimed the fifth-place position heading into the all-important knock-out rounds.

 

Poole played Starz Pink in the Last 16, and even though they won the tie 11-8, there were anxious moments amid big upsets in previous games, and the Starz Pink sharpshooter, Clementine Stewart, scored some Super Shots. In the end, though, Poole were safely through to the Quarter Finals.

 

Their quarter-final game was against Turnford, who had been very up and down throughout the whole competition. The Eastern champions saved their best performance for Poole, and it was another battle for the South Coast side to qualify for the Semi-Finals.

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The game was neck and neck thanks to Lottie Prudance dropping an incredible Super Shot for Turnford, and as the tie went to the final thirty seconds, the game was tied. With five seconds to go, Poole were awarded a penalty shot, which was gladly scored to send them into the semi-finals to play Sutton Town.

 

Poole’s had already played Sutton Town in the group stages and lost to a dramatic Super Shot in the final seconds. This time around, they didn’t leave the outcome to chance and expertly controlled the game to win the tie 11-7 and set up a final against Oldham Red Kites.

 

The final was a classic! This was the first time since 2020 that Poole had reached a final of our Netball Cup competition, and if they were going to win it, it was going to have to be the hard way against the country's No.1 team, Oldham Red Kites, who themselves were determined to win after losing in the semi-finals of last season’s U11 event against Starz.

 

The game started with both teams going goal for goal. Poole were handling the pressure well and expertly feeding their shooters against the Oldham Red Kites ' defence, who are super talented. At the back of the half, Poole blinked first and lost the ball to allow Oldham to go a point up. Oldham followed this up with another goal before the half-time buzzer, and the score at half-time was 7-5.

 

The fact that Poole had stayed in the game up until half-time was credit to them, but to overturn a two-goal deficit against Oldham in such a high-pressure situation was going to be tough. As the second half started, Oldham went further ahead, the score being 10-6 with three minutes to go.

 

An instruction from the Poole coach to the shooters with three minutes to go changed the game. The next phase of play saw Isla Jones receive the ball, draw a foul, and score a Super Shot to bring the game back to two points, making a comeback more realistic. Oldham looked shell-shocked and, on the next play, lost the ball. Poole had a chance to drive to the goal to potentially score and go one point behind, and, with it being their centre pass next, level the game. As the ball fell to Isla Jones again, nobody could have predicted what she would do, and with most expecting her to create a situation to set up a one-point shot, she went once again for the two-point shot and with the towering figure of Nhara Hotene over her, everyone watched in amazement as she dared to level the tie in the most dramatic circumstances. As the ball flew through the air, it felt like an eternity for it to drop into the net, and when it did, the whole venue went crazy.

 

Now Poole had the chance to go ahead, and they held their nerve on the next centre pass to go one point ahead with a minute to go. Oldham settled down and levelled the tie, but with 15 seconds left, they had to hold back another Poole attack to force the game into overtime. Poole drove to the goal with the clock ticking down, and in the final seconds, contact was called on the Poole shooter. This led to the game ending, but Poole had a chance to win the game with the final shot after a penalty was called. The Poole shooter obliged, didn’t waste any time, and put the shot up, sending the venue into a frenzy.

 

Poole were the champions of the Netball Cup once again and easily one of the most memorable wins in the competition’s history.