Blackwell vs Imperial 1s - 17/02/2020

BLWP 9 - 11 Imperial 1s

What about sunrise?
What about rain?
What about 11 players that came
To make a name
What about Shadwell fields?
21:30 was the time
What about all the penalties?
That you said was theirs not mine

Did you ever stop to notice
The GB Player sat in goal
Hope you didn’t notice
That we stole a Blizard man

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh, ooooooooooooohhhhhh

What did become apparent was that being a 6”5’ and an Amazonian was a prerequisite of being a part of IC1. Them and their many meters of limbs between them started a brief warm-up. We huddled for a pep talk and lined up for ready to start the first quarter.

We were in for a tough ride. IC 1 have historically sat on stop of the league, proud and unwavering. So we knew it was gonna be a tough match. James and all his wing glory shot right out the gates and won the first swim off. The quarter came and went in a frenzy. What we did was stay tight and swim down. They had an amazing advantage with a keeper with the skill set that hasn’t been seen in these waters since Paul. Marco had his work cut out for him. We ended this quarter 4-2 - tight but against such a tough team this was just the beginning.

We switched ends and we were marking the big goal. The team had a lil shuffle. We lined up and we were off. A skill that was practiced in training just a few nights before we got to see in real life....from the other team. Jono on loan from Blizard was continually harped on from all sides as they delivered a perfect drop leaving us baffled. But in the true Blackwell ways, we adapted. Chloe held her own as a strong pit D showing some great defence. We got a couple kick outs and we got to practice the man up and with this we got a goal. Our keeper had some great saves and the tight press continued as we got real cozy with our players. A buzzer beater shot from their goalie left us 8-4 down and with a cramped hobbling keeper.

Switch ends. With Omar stretching poolside Tomas stepped up and donned the red hat. We had some great confidence shown by Lizzy, Liam, and Charis holding the ball even under great pressure from the IC defenders. Tomas did well in goal only conceding one in his time in goal. The harping on Jono continued and was a running theme throughout this match, that and a shockingly low amount of penalties given. Josh showed good awareness by getting into space. This quarter also saw their captain being wrapped and a few others soon to be sent out. The quarter ended 9-6 to IC.

A pep talk gave everyone clearer ideas of when and how best to pass to pit. The score still tight and with 8 minutes to go the pressure was on. We were getting tired but so were IC. Another one of their players got wrapped and they were down to their final 7. There was great team work shown as we all banded together covered our men and stayed dynamic. At some point Leah assisted Marco’s break by using herself to push away two defenders on his tail. The end was near and the score was close. And then it was the moment we all been waiting for, a perfect drop into pit and an amazing scoop shot from Jono. We ended the game 9-11 to IC. Maybe not the standard win for Blackwell but it was the best I’ve seen them play.

Growth. Confidence. Courage. What more could you want? Y’all make me proud everyday and today I’ve seen some amazing displays of water polo It just goes to show you don’t need to have the physique of a vending machine or legs to your chin or yams of a shot putter to play an amazing game. Blackwell in our normal to slightly above average height glory can still do amazing things.

As always from a very proud and very tired captain,

Wet watery love

Tillicum xx

Goals:
Marco (8)
Jono (1)