On Wednesday, the Blues netballers traveled to Oxford for the first encounter of the season against their Varsity rivals. Cambridge came to the game with confidence, after finding form a week earlier in a nail-biting match against top-of-the-league Birmingham, losing only by a single goal in the dying minutes.

This week’s match against Oxford was very different however; Cambridge had the lion’s share of the possession and came away with a convincing 48 – 29 victory.

Oxford, it must be said, got off to a good start.  They broke Cambridge’s opening centre pass, and after a series of changes in possession, scored the first goal. Cambridge responded well however, shooters Gina Dalgleith (GA) and Jade Lane (GS) systematically put away their shots from the get-go, and Hannah Pennicott (WA) repeatedly made life difficult for the Oxford defence in attack.

However, Cambridge lacked urgency and the first quarter ended with Oxford ahead by three, the score Oxford 9 – Cambridge 6.

But Oxford’s lead was never convincing and from the second quarter on Cambridge dominated the game on an ever-increasing basis.  The Light Blues hassled Oxford’s centre passes, with Sarah Grimmer (WD) getting her hands to several of the opposition’s offerings.

In contrast, Cambridge's Liz Dalgleith (C) passing was consistently excellent whilst defenders Chloe Maine (GK) and Laura Spence (GD) played a predominantly “man-on-man” defensive game which put even more pressure on the Oxford attack to convert their chances when they came.

It was at the attacking end though that Cambridge began to run away with it.  Fine feeding from Sophia Anderson (WA) set the shooters up for what was to be the performance highlight of the game: the Cambridge shooting pair.

Dalgleith and Lane slotted goal after goal, and seemed to move almost unobstructed in the shooting circle. Although Oxford continued to  hold their own, their game was let down by repeated slips in discipline.  By half-time, Cambridge had not only redeemed the three-goal deficit, but banked a six-goal lead. The score then Cambridge 21 – Oxford 15.

Oxford shuffled their players around for the third quarter, but the changes did little to threaten Cambridge’s lead.  Whilst they put away a respectable number of goals they coughed up even more turnovers that Cambridge turned into points.

Oxford’s defenders continued to contest Cambridge’s drives and passes too but with no real success.  By this point, Cambridge had settled into a rhythm that Oxford could not cope with.  The frustation was telling, with one of the Oxford players being penalised three times in quick succession for dissent against the referee. Score at the end of the third quarter, Cambridge 35 – Oxford 24.

If the opening quarter had begun at a slow-burn, by the final quarter, Cambridge was well and truly on fire. Dalgleith (Liz), Grimmer, Maine and Spence upped the intercept tally, Anderson fed the ball patiently, and the Blues shooters looked unstoppable. Final score, Cambridge 48 – Oxford 29.

With the Varsity match in Oxford this coming February the signs bode well for Cambridge after this first encounter.