A COMPETITIVE match between Swifts and Angels headlined the action from the Maidenhead District Netball League Premier Division on Monday night.

Both sides went into the game at Kidwells Park with an unbeaten start to the new season.

Angels pulled ahead in the first quarter after some good turnover play, but Swifts then hit their stride and opened up an eight-goal lead. Angels mounted a brave fightback in the final period but were unable to get their noses in front in a 34-28 defeat.

Mavericks and Phoenix Pinkz took to the court with each goal shooter and long bomb specialist. After a slow start, both shooters got their eye in with Mavericks pulling ahead with some calm and collected play. With the scores locked at 8-8 in the second quarter, Mavericks switched on their passing to seal a 30-24 victory.

A well-contested game between GX Jaguars and Windsor saw the latter hit the front early on and steadily increase their advantage through each quarter for a 39-27 success.

Business Moves took the lead in the first quarter during their match against Woodley but, after a drawn second period, Business Moves pushed on to take the win 38-34.

The final game in the Premier Division this week saw B52’s take on newly-promoted Phoenix, who made their intentions clear from the star to storm into a 9-3 advantage. Great defending saw them concede only a single goal in the third quarter whilst notching up a season-high score in a 39-11 success.

Bucks Free Press:

PHOTO: Blue Magnets continued their great start to the new season after a convincing 34-14 win against Bluebirds.

Zentax moved to the top in Division One after their 29-26 victory over Black Magic, with Wokingham two points behind in second despite losing 42-42 against Redbacks.

Nettlebed Stingers remain in fourth place after a very close game against Sparks. The latter finished the first quarter with a two-goal advantage but it all changed hands during the second period with the Stingers leading by two at the half-time whistle.

Sparks managed to get within one goal at the end of the third quarter but Nettlebed Stingers were too strong and managed to hold on to claim a 32-30 success.

There was another very close game on court four between Scotch and Sevens, but an irregularity in the Sevens paperwork handed Scotch a 21-0 win and a valuable five points.

The final match in the division saw Eclipse jump from bottom of the table to seventh position after a dominating 52-32 win against Apple Travel Green.

The Windsor Rose defence started their match in Division Two against Sharks really well, restricting them to only two goals after the first quarter. Roses kept up the pressured however and pulled ahead in each period to win 27-18.

Frenzy got off to a flying start and led Firebirds 7-1 after the first quarter but, after a couple of positional changes, Firebirds found their feet to pull the deficit back to three goals.

Bucks Free Press:

PHOTO: Bluebirds suffered a 34-14 defeat to Blue Magnets at Kidwells Park in Maidenhead.

In the final period, Firebirds managed to level the scores but Frenzy put in a big final push to score four late on and take the win 27-23.

Apple Travel had a convincing 33-7 win against a depleted Risers team.

In the closest game in the division, Blaze took on Genesis. The latter led by two at half-time and had a three-goal lead in the third quarter, but Blaze came back strongly to level the scores. Genesis however managed a winning goal in the final moments - 26-25.

In Division Three, Blitz played an excellent game against Chances to inflict a first defeat upon them with some great shooting in a 31-18 success.

Havoc took a commanding 17-2 lead against Henley in the first half. Henley were inspired and came back to within three goals but ultimately could not quite pull off the miracle win in a 25-22 defeat..

The Blue Magnets youngsters continued their great start to the campaign with another convincing win against Bluebirds (34-14) to stay unbeaten.

Meister started well against Woodley to lead at half-time by eight goals. Woodley contained Meister in the second half but could not pull back the early arrears in a 28-20 loss.

Bucks Free Press:

PHOTO: Marlow-based Ants were awarded a 21-0 win against Crazies after their opposition fielded an ineligible player.

Unfortunately Crazies played an ineligible player against Ants so had to forfeit the game 21-0.

Blue Magnets 2 and Dean Dreamers got the action in Division Four under way on court one. The first quarter was even for both sides and the game started goal-for-goal.

It is great to see the young Magnets team improve week on week, but unfortunately it was not enough for the Dreamers in a 30-17 defeat.

Due to misfiled paperwork however the Blue Magnets 2 took the win 21-0.

Rubies and Margaritas were second and third in the table and played on court three. A strong start from Rubies saw them take the lead for quarter one, but it was not enough as Margaritas found their rhythm in the second period and ultimately won 21-15 to leapfrog their opponents in the standings.

Holidays are a longstanding team in the Maidenhead District Netball League and met new side Aftershock, but commanded the game from the first whistle to the last in a 45-6 success. Holidays now stand at the top of the table.

There was a second old-versus-new match on court two as Red Rockets took on the newly-formed Vixens. The Vixens have improved dramatically in such a short time already this season and it showed with their fantastic play until the fourth quarter.

With an entirely different mindset, Red Rockets clawed back to win 32-25.

Bumblebees and The Crew met on court one and a few borrowed players made for slightly disjointed play from both sides. The Crew took the lead and their goal keeper, Clare Campbell, is new to the league but really starting to utilise her height and cause some problems. Her side won 35-23.