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10th March 2016 - issue 10 - vol1
NETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SPECIAL
Plus Athletics, Rugby, Football, Basketball, Rugby, volleyball, girls football and Judo Plus other sports news. Over 170 Pages of Gibraltar sports news and stories.
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The journe
Special feature on the journey toward
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ey to gold
ds gold by the Under 17 Netball team
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The Six Month Journey to Victory
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any of us, and this reporter would have to confess he is one of those many, did not have a clue of the extend of the sport. Netball was the forgotten sport, the sport for the girls, supposedly slow, supposedly unchallenging. How wrong could one be proven to be. A group of Under 17 proved us wrong.
The journey for this young team started nine months ago. A selection of young under 17 year old started their training in June last year. Three times a week, every week under the guidance of four other young ladies, Joelle Moreno, Janice Moreno, Keisha Moreno and Claire Nunez. Much of their training would go unreported. Their efforts would still be unknown.
If nine months training would lead anyone to think that it would affect their education the young ladies would prove them wrong. Just 24 hours before the tournament started the coaches praised and applauded one of the players as they waited to train for obtaining an A in one of her exams.
It was close to three months prior to the tournament that Core Photography saw for the first time this young team in action from afar at first. The young team was being put through a gruelling regime of training which would soon see them transformed into a disciplined, well organised, inspirational group of young ladies.
The team had its leaders in Amy Pozo, the Captain and Joelle Davis (Vice Captain), but it also had its leaders amongst the players, with the buoyant Anna Hernandez always at the forefront edging on from the centre.
As the months progressed the team were whittled down to twelve players, their first training session as the final squad was a nervy affair. On their young shoulders now stood the pressure of bringing to fruition nine months of hard training, and proving that they were worthy of their selection.
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Gibraltar Netball was not to ease on the pressure, they were creating a winning team not just a team which was going to participate in the European B division. The first test of the young ladies was a match against a select group of senior players. Among them some of the coaches. It was an experience that would bring the young ladies down to earth very quickly, but from which they would spring back from. Gibraltar Netball, as Moira explained, wanted the young ladies to know that they could be
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beaten, and wanted them to realise that final selection was not the end of the journey and that there was still work to be done.
The next few weeks would see the girls battling it out on the court on a weekly basis, coupled with their own club matches, which included the division two clash which brought those selected clash against each other.
Gibraltar Netball had created a group which not only provided evidence that they were a
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united group, still the young teens outside the court, all of them friends now, but that they were among the toughest competitors Gibraltar were placing on the court in recent years to represent them. "I once told them that my grandmother could jump higher than they could" Moira Gomez, President of Gibraltar Netball explained with a smile as she responded to our comments that the girls seemed to be out jumping other teams during the initial warm ups to the matches. Indeed the evidence would soon show that
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the Gibraltar team had been instilled with a toughness which would show in matches during the tournament. A grit in which 50-50 balls were considered as theirs in possession, and in which losing was not an option in their minds.
Players would get up even when clearly in pain, and would not complain of minor ailments, unlike so many sports see today.
Importantly, this young team had also been instilled with a sense of respect, formality,
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CoreSportgib humility and comradeship which was seen on and off the court. Training had not just been about the court tactics and play, a set of rules needed to be adhered to, that was Netball Europe after all. Bags under chairs, players in their rightful seats, warm up routines without coaches, and then there was the need to represent Gibraltar. Daily they would be reminded that they should take care of what they said in social media, on what they were saying in public, in what they were being seen in doing.
A young team, who as all teens had fun sometimes breaking the rules a bit off court, kept their discipline even when having fun, and kept their humility as players. Yet the team never lost its youthfulness.
On Sunday afternoon, just half an hour after winning the tournament these same young ladies would walk around the stadium going from person to person involved in their development and handed a personalised photograph of the team. Each signed by the team, but no individual, and each one thanking personally and individually the person it was being handed to.
More than one tear would be shed by the gesture from a team that had been created through their own will to be winners.
More than one person would be transformed to see netball in a different light.
"I never really paid much attention to netball," admitted one father as he stood waiting for the second half of Sunday's game, "but it's probably the most exciting sport I have seen, and beautiful, and this team are so good we should be proud."
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More than just a mere tournament
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ibraltar Netball took on the monumental task of organising an Under 17 Netball Europe Championship in Gibraltar. To many it might have seemed like a small feat, yet the event was to prove to be a year long affair which started off well before the national squad was selected.
Moira Gomez, President of Gibraltar Netball highlighted that it was back to 2015 when the tournament was already under its planning stages. With the likes of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also participating in the Performance Section, the A Division, the championship took on far more than a development tournament feel about it. Gibraltar was to take on Switzerland, Maltas and the Republic of Ireland in its own B Division which meant there was that extra pressure as the B Division would dominate the public's interest locally.
Sponsorship needed to be sought, accommodation, food, transport, marketing and much more. A group of volunteers rallied together, and even during the actual days of the tournament it was a constant continuation of the organisation of the tournament that kept the momentum going. High praise coming from Netball Europe and the Chief Minister himself.
From the positioning of the chairs to the transmission of the live stream, Netball Gibraltar had a monumental task before them which was successfully completed.
The Tercentenary Sports Hall proved to be an adequate venue, versatile and easy to transform to the needs of Netball Europe. With the assistance of the GSLA the sports hall was converted into a Netball Court, all its main lines covered over, and even the poles for
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the nets to fixed to the standards of Netball Europe. Daily inspections of the court would maintain the pressure on the organisers to ensure that everything was maintained in order.
As from very early Friday morning entering the sports hall was entering into an international arena. Netball Gibraltar had arranged for a professional sound system from Fresh Entertainment and a live feed of the
matches through GibMedia. Both of which added the atmosphere as an international event.
The ambience was electric as the fans arrived. The first ones to see the matches were school children. Every seat in the stadium was filled, with over 500 school children watching. Even the weather seemed to have been arranged to be perfect with a cold breeze adequate for the northern sphere
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teams such as Switzerland and the British teams, but with fine clear skies throughout the weekend. As fate would have it, Netball Europe had arranged for the tournament's final day to be held on Mother's Day.
Two commentators would be in the background providing the latest updates, reports and commentaries on the matches and tournaments throughout the day, joined by team members, Netball
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Europe officials and others to provide a full coverage of the event.
This was not a mere no sound, no commentary live stream as seen in other major international sports live streams in Gibraltar. Instead it was a highly sophisticated transmission which was viewed by over 10,000 netball enthusiasts in the very first days.
The old Victoria Stadium Sports hall had been closed
to the public as teams were provided with their pre match warm up areas. There was no cross over between teams playing and those about to play, even though the whole event was organised to work in tight two hour slots from early morning.
There were no delays in matches, each starting at the allocated times.
As teams, officials and staff arrived meals were packed
together and provided to everyone.
Gibraltar Netball could breathe a sigh of relief on Sunday afternoon as teams departed on their flights, on schedule. The event had been a success in organisation, proving once again the capabilities of Gibraltar to step up to the challenge of organising an international event.
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Gibraltar emphatic winners against Ire
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CoreSportgib Gibraltar triumphed in their first match of the Netball European Under 17 Championship beating Ireland 4914.
A very nervous but composed looking Gibraltar team took to the court with a confidence which was clearly shown from the first minutes of the match.
The Gibraltar team started the match scoring first to the roar of some 300 school children attending the match.
Buoyed by the constant cheers Gibraltar proved too strong for Ireland who were on the back foot throughout most of the match.
With clean baskets from Megan Prescott and Amy Pozo and some determined intercepts the young ladies fought for every ball Gibraltar and proved they were serious in winning their division.
Gibraltar lead throughout each quarter. Even a totally different team to the starting six by the last quarter the Gib girls were out jumping and out pacing Ireland in every zone.
A few moments of relaxing their posture did little to ease the pressure on Ireland who were met by Goal Keepers and Goal Defenders determined to keep a clean area in front of their home crowd.
As the match neared its end the first day saw the first of a standing ovation. This time from school children enthralled by Gibraltar's victory. The jubilation was intense as the crowd counted the seconds to the end with a massive roar echoing throughout the whole of Bayside sports complex as Gibraltar won.
A 49-14 victory had set the pace for others to follow.
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Gibraltar puts nerves aside to beat Malta
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CoreSportgib The young Gibraltar Under 17 Netball team started the match a bit nervy. Wanting to score quickly the first few minutes saw them play with a bit of a lack of confidence in them as Malta made it difficult to score. This soon changed when good combinations between Anna Hernandez, Amy Pozo and Megan Prescott lit up the game.
Pozo and Prescott were on fire netting cleanly and putting seven in to bring the score to 7-0 by the 8th minute. The first few minutes now forgotten.
Gibraltar went on to lead 14-0 by the end of the first quarter proving that they had set out to win their division.
Malta responded with their own points but Gibraltar were steaming ahead by 27 points.
With the match now more or less settled the Gibraltar coaches decided to rest some players. Trying new combinations both up front and at the back Gibraltar gave Malta a small chance of reducing the deficit. Gibraltar's hunger to prove themselves in front of their own crowd saw the girls battling for each ball. There was no letting go the young ladies scrapping for the ball even on 50-50's when already leading by over 20 points.
The introduction of Joelle Gilbert saw a change in the centre as she brought in a new dimension as she moved into key positions to spread the ball quickly to the attackers.
Megan Prescott remained in true form scoring at every opportunity.
The match watched by some 350 people, including the Chief Minister had everyone on their feet as Gibraltar won 47-21.
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15 mins to glory
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CoreSportgib Early morning on Sunday Gibraltarian organisers of the Netball Europe Under 17 Championship arrived at the Tercentenary Sports Hall for a day many will talk about until the next win at least.
It was only 0800 hrs, far too early for a Sunday morning, many looking for their first coffee and churros. Yet even then the ambience had changed from the previous day's jubilation. Gibraltar was entering into its final day of the competition, and although Malta was playing the Irish first and this would then be followed by Northern Ireland against Scotland, there was little focus on what was happening on court but rather what was to follow.
The nerves were clear to see among the Gibraltar netball volunteers and staff who were preparing the way to complete the final day. Not because it was important to ensure the event went on to perfection, but because everyone knew that Gibraltar were playing their final game and this would be the decider.
"We are going to beat them you watch," came a remark. From behind a very emphatic "we don't say that, we don't want to say that, of course we all want them to win, but we don't say that."
The believe was there but nobody wanted to say it out loud, it could bring bad luck, it could motivate others to play better, it could give our girls too much confidence and lose us the game.
As the clock ticked, a coach arrived, red and white track suited young ladies jumped out heading towards the door of the Tercentenary Sports Hall, "they are here, they are here" voices would call out. All those who could gathered around to welcome them to the stadium. Gibraltar had arrived and now everything was very real, Gibraltar were due to play their final game.
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CoreSportgib As time neared a stream of people gathered by the door, young, old, babies, mothers, fathers, even people who had merely been told how exciting the previous matches had been all gathered. Slowly the twenty odd crowd that had watched the previous match became 50, soon 100, by 1pm the stands only had one tier empty, and this had been reserved for the other teams.
It was not just Gibraltar fans, among them Swiss fans could be heard with their clanging bells ringing.
At home some fathers joined their young daughters in watching the live stream from their computers. And the match begun.
If netball was supposed to be an unexciting game this was proof that many had got it wrong for a very long time. As the matched entered its third quarter the groans, the whistles, the sighs and the explicits intensified. As Joelle Gilbert lunged across the width of the court to intercept, the crowds roared. As Ana Hernandez passed to the Goal shooters the crowd cheered. As Garro blocked they stood and applauded. Many a "C" word could be heard when things went wrong, many a "vamo" could be heard when things went right. The emotive face of Mega Prescott after bringing Gibraltar back into contention as she walked off the court would stir many emotions.
Fifteen minutes to glory. A glance at the scoreboard and Gibraltar were nine points ahead, hold on nine points ahead are you sure, yes nine points ahead, Gibraltar was winning.
Amy Pozo was rallying her troops swirling her hand in the air, Ana Hernandez followed suite, Gibraltar was rallying.
As the countdown begun the stands screamed the numbers out, excitement in the voices, there was little Switzerland could do now to get
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CoreSportgib the deficit back, Gibraltar was winning, Gibraltar had won. Time slowed for those seconds, those counting were going faster than the clock, they held their breath as they reached one to let the clock catch up and the Sports hall roared in jubilation.
The Gibraltar bench already on their feet raced to the centre of court, embraces, hugs, tears. Gibraltar had won.
Even those who had never understood the game would hold back their tears as the jubilation of winning the Challenge Cup, the equivalent of the B Division in netball, was hard to ignore.
As Joanna Moreno said before the match "if you are Gibraltarian you will feel it, its Gibraltar who is playing, it's not just netball."
More than Twenty Four hours had passed, and with the Tercentenary Sports Hall back to normal, no crowds, no music, just a normal day, three ladies spoke by the gates. One wore the GSLA uniform, the previous day she had worn the Gibraltar Netball staff uniform, another dressed very much as a teen chatted among each other. "Hi, you ladies not leaving this place?" came a remark, the young lady turned and with a gleaming smile radiating from her face greeted back "hi" with a welcoming tone. Anna Hernandez, playmaker, creator of many of the passes that led to the victory and who followed the lead from her Captain Amy Pozo in rallying the team to victory, a young teen, a hero the day before, a gold medallist in Netball, was going about her life as normal. Yet in the knowledge by all of those present at that moment that she was a winner, like all of the other eleven young ladies who had given Gibraltar its Gold.
And we had watched it all happen.
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Gibraltar takes victory in the last quarter
A very nervy Gibraltar took to the court facing their toughest opponents yet, with Switzerland drawn on points and needing to win to head the division.
The intensity of the match was clear to see from the first minute with neither team scoring until the 3rd minute. Both then took their opportunities with Gibraltar leading 3-2 by the fifth minute.
The nerves begun to show as Switzerland proved a physically more aggressive opponent, the battle between Gibraltar's Goal Keeper Arianne Garro and the Swiss Goal Shooter become a key to the match. Garro's efforts to keep the Swiss from shooting were unfortunately not taken advantage of at first as Gibraltar's attackers and shooters found themselves under pressure to continue their form. For every block came a miss or failed pass up front for a short period of time. Enough for the Swiss to go ahead in points.
With Gibraltar behind at half time by three points a tactical change saw the match change. Gibraltar grappled for the ball, and started to also out jump the Swiss in the centre. Garro had won the psychological battle at the back against a Goal Shooter intent on pressing the young keeper body to body even when the ball was on the other side of the court.
As the fourth quarter started Gibraltar pushed ahead fighting for every ball, and stunning the Swiss. The latter, who made two changes during an umpire's technical foul time out, without any injury to their players, angered Gibraltar further to heighten their game play and saw our Under 17 team respond by pushing their lead to nine points.
The over 300 crowd rose to their feet for the third day in a row and counted down the seconds as Gibraltar led by 5 points. Gibraltar had won 3631. Tears filled with joy could be seen on the court as Gibraltar claimed the division gold with an unbeaten record.
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and the story begins...
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England Unbeatable
If there was any need to prove that England were the team to beat in Europe, the English team made sure there was little doubt wining the A Division gold in the Under 17 Netball Europe Championships in Gibraltar.
Unbeaten throughout the tournament England crushed team after team with their
speed, efficiency and unmistakable hunger to win.
With the English girls amongst the tallest of the tournament England already had the height advantage in their favour. Their game play was effective fast paced passing, running and chasing. Using linear runs down the flanks to reach the
front, whilst pressing in all zones of the court in a devastating and efficient way which saw first Northern Ireland, then Scotland and finally Wales being brushed aside.
England recorded the highest score of the tournament in their defeat of Scotland by 93-22, after
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recording a 73-14 victory over Northern Ireland the day before. The England team completed their unbeaten run with an 82-14 win over Wales.
The best match of the tournament was however seen in the Northern Ireland versus Scotland match early on Sunday morning.
A very early start saw both teams starting at 9am. The early start did not dampen the spirits with both teams playing for a win, and battling point against point. Scotland had led 31-27 at half time but saw a battling Northern Ireland taking the lead, before they took it back before losing it again at the end. Northern Ireland won
by 55-53 in what was hailed as one of the most exciting matches of the tournament. Scotland nevertheless came runners-up in their division getting the silver medal. Northern Ireland had lost against Wales 49-31 in previous matches. Scotland had beaten the Welsh 62-43 on the first day.
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Umpires success
As Gibraltar succeeded in the courts behind the scenes, and in schedules not publicised for Gibraltarian umpires were put through their paces in a B Assessors award netball match.
Teams from Marbella had come to Gibraltar ready to assist Netball Gibraltar and Netball Europe in the task of assessing the umpires.
Keisha Moreno, Claire Nunez, Laura Pattison and talent identified young Anna Hernandez were put through their paces and tested on the court. The stadium doors were closed to the public as the matches took place. Netball Gibraltar did not wish for the news to come out yet, not until they knew what the outcome of the assessment would be.
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Just hours after Gibraltar’s victory against the Republic of Ireland Gibraltar Netball received further good news.
Moira Gomez, President of Gibraltar Netball announced “I am delighted to announce that Keisha Moreno, Claire Nunez, Laura Pattison and talent identified young Anna Hernandez have been successful In passing their Netball Europe B Umpire
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Award!! This is so exciting! No doubt wanting to follow in Nadine Pardo Zammits footsteps who herself is busy umpiring in the NE u17 Championships section this weekend.�
Gibraltar had successfully netted another great goal in the development of netball in Gibraltar.
Already it had seen how Nadine Pardo had been
awarded the chance to umpire the England versus Northern Ireland match on Friday, a high intensity match with the favourites England playing. A feat she was to repeat again throughout the weekend as she continued to umpire other matches in the championship.
However, the success off court was not the last of the
announcements. By Saturday night Minister Steven Linares let slip at a reception that Nadine Pardo, already an A Award umpire had succeeded in becoming a B Award Assessor for umpires. Gibraltar could now develop its umpires locally without the need to go outside Gibraltar. A further feat which raised Gibraltar's profile in European netball.
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Basketball
Sparks show promise
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CoreSportgib The Sparks let themselves down in the last quarter of the match after leading throughout losing by 39-54 against the Panthers in a match that they dominated most of the match.
A loss of concentration in the last 10 minutes, with the additional frustrations of seeing the ball not going in led to some players taking to complaining against officials instead of focusing on their game. The Panthers, a team of more veteran players took advantage of this and came back from nine point behind to win the game.
However, the Sparks defeat was not all negative. The young team made up of most of the younger GABBA women's players showed the progress they have made in recent months. A zonal defence effectively kept the Panthers out throughout most of the match. A well disciplined approach saw the team working as a unit running back to cover defence immediately they lost the ball. Moving across with the flow of the match as a unit the Panthers were throughout the first half reduced to relying on foul shots to score. Only six of their first half 15 points came from direct play, the other nine from penalty shots.
Sparks attack also saw them moving the ball around the court with ease. Keeping the game play simple it was their movement on the court which was causing problems. However, their ratio conversions of baskets was still comparatively low, just keeping six points ahead throughout the first three quarters.
The junior team might have lost, but as an observer pointed out later they should have won the game had it not been for their loss of focus at the end which resulted in the umpire sanctioning them.
Young netball gold medallist Arriane Garro played for the Sparks just two days after her netball success.
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Mons Calpe v Jets
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Blue Stars v Europa
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Angels stun St Joseph CoreSportgib
Football
The changes made in the Angels team during the transfer window in January have threatened to change the bottom of the table battle, with Angels already having beaten Gibraltar United and only last week narrowly losing to Lynx. The team which is finding its feet as a unit are seen as potential point takers, a fact that they proved this weekend.
Angels continued their stunning route to attempt staying in the first division with a shock win over fourth of the table St Joseph's.
With a new manager by the touchline Angels kept
St Joseph's at bay giving them few opportunities to score. A nervy St Joseph seemed unable to find a route through to goal as Angels new tactical play in defence stunned St Joseph's to a halt.
Tough tackling, a tactical game employed at wasting time, as well as a reliance on quick counter attacks saw fourth-placed St Joseph's held for the 90 minutes and finally losing to a last minute goal.
The match had few moments of excitement, with play mainly centred in the middle of the field as both defences pushed on each other. As the match entered its latter stages,
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Angels sensing that they could draw points from St Joseph's seemed to employ the use of delaying tactics, with many injuries called on, and players easily going to ground against St Joseph's complaints.
It was however, off the field that the news was materialising as Angels saw its new coach highlight how things had changed at the club. The new manager was as vociferous as the first, however, it was his outburst at one of his players which had the few fans watching shocked as he called out in a broken Spanish at one of his players warming up "if he
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thought that he was on the beach?." With high gesticulations with his arms and grittiness in his comments the coach told his player to "carry on and do as he wished," with an emphatic tone which saw the player jumping to attention and continue his warm up session in earnest, then adding that he would not be going on as planned. The player went onto the field in the last minutes of injury time, with little chance to make an impact.
It was right on the 90th minute that Angels came up with the winner. St Joseph's had tried to break wide with a long cross only to see the ball
controlled by an Angels defender who flicked it over his head and that of a St Joseph's forwards by the touchline before controlling and running down the flank. A quick through ball to Mena saw the latter race into the area his shot blocked by national keeper Jordan Perez for a corner.
St Joseph's were again to see their own failings lose them points as the subsequent corner was badly cleared leaving Mena, one of the few survivors from the start of the season, to put the ball into the back of the net.
Angels went on to hold play and waste as much
time as they could, eventually winning 1-0 and taking crucial points from St Joseph's who are now just three points ahead of Lynx. The latter having won 3-0 the previous night against Manchester 62. Lazer scoring a second half hat trick which saw Lynx take all three points from Manchester 62. The latter now at risk of dropping into the relegation battle play off place, or even the straight relegation as they stand just two points ahead of both Glacis and Gibraltar United, and ten points ahead of a rejuvenated Angels.
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Football
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Gibraltar United fai capitalise on shoc Gibraltar United entered the match knowing that Glacis United had equalled them in points the previous night in the battle at the bottom of the table.
Facing Europa was not an easy task, but Gibraltar United were to set the tone of the match with an early goal in the 17th minute that shocked Europa. For the next quarter of an hour Europa struggled to
get back into the match as they attempted to get the equaliser only to see Gibraltar United tightly knitted at the back and threatening to run at them on the counter.
The tensions in Europa were clearly visible even on the touchline as their coach screamed for the team to put more energy into their game and think about what they were
doing as they were kept away from goal.
It was not until the 25th minute that Europa had the clearest chance to equalise with the ball striking the crossbar and bouncing just outside the line before a second strike was cleared by Goldwyn. Just a few minutes later, Europa, who were finding it difficult to reach goal saw Padal strike from the
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iled to k start
edge of the box. The ball rocketed into the top corner of the goal, away from Goldwyns outstretched reach for the equaliser.
Padal struck again right on half time to settle Europa's tensions down and put the score in their favour.
Just ten minutes into the second half Rivas scored the third and final goal for
Europa bringing the score to 3-1. The match was to see Europa trying for a fourth but a tight defence by Gibraltar United kept them away from target. Europa struggled to reach goal from direct play and relied heavily on set pieces.
The match was not with its controversy as officials decided to allow the game to proceed with Europa,
who were considered the away team, playing with the same coloured shorts as Gibraltar United and similar socks.
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Football
10th March 2016
Glacis keep on taking points Glacis United kept their route to staying their first division intact taking the scalp of Britannia in Friday's encounter.
In what was a tactical match in which Glacis played for the possession of the ball, Britannia failed to impress once again, with few clear ideas in threatening Glacis' goal.
Uncharacteristically Glacis played from the start to control possession. With their main front man Sastrie on the bench Glacis opted to forego what has become their traditional quick counter attacking style for a possession based game which saw much of the game in the middle of the
pitch.
The style of play did not suit Britannia who are also known for their quick counters, yet it was mid table Britannia who seemed unable to find any route towards Glacis' goal.
It was not until the 49th minute that the first and only goal came when
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Britannia were unable to deal with a set piece. A free kick floated from the edge of the box to the near post saw Cortes Narvaez flick back across goal. The ball floated over the Britannia defence and keeper then drop into the back of the net at the far post.
With Glacis 1-0 up there
was little else to cheer as both teams seemed far from creating further chances. Britannia were lucky to see all their players stay on the pitch when the officials missed what seemed to be a clear handball at the edge of the box as the ball rocketed towards goal. Claims for a handball were quickly
ignored by the officials who signalled for the match to continue.
With neither team making headway the match remained 1-0 with Glacis joining Gibraltar United on 21 points.
Lincoln smash seven past Lions CoreSportgib
Football
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If there was any doubt in anyone's minds over Lincoln's response to their defeat by Europa last week, their power driven finishing against Lions was enough to dispel them.
Lincoln had to wait until half an hour into the match before opening the score. Just prior to this Liam Walker had threatened to score, putting the ball wide. Lions although attacking had been unable to reach the penalty area with any real type of threat except in the opening seconds when a cross into the centre forced Navas out of his goal to punch clear as Lata threatened to strike.
Lions were found to be vulnerable at set pieces such as corners. With the ball going across the goal mouth on several occasions before they scored. It was in one of these corners that the first goal came. The first corner had seen the ball go wide to the far post, and saw a block save from the Polish goalkeeper from a strike from the left wing. The subsequent corner was badly cleared and ended up at the feet of Blasco who smashed it from the edge of the box into the top corner of the goal.
Lincoln added a second at the very stroke of half time when Lions had thought they were making progress. Abayian making it two nil.
As the second half started Lincoln did not take long to strike again as
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Cabreras broke down the left wing and found himself alone against the goalkeeper. Cabreras smashed the ball into the back of the net with Szpilczynski unable to do much about it.
Lions responded just three minutes later with Lata snatching the ball at the edge of the area and running at goal where he rounded Navas to get a goal back.
Lions joy was soon reduced to tears as Lincoln found themselves breaking through the left flank again. A cross into the penalty area found Cabreras unmarked at the far post to slot in with a half volley for the fourth.
The fifth goal came from another mistake from the Lions defence as the ball was crossed into the centre and was softly flicked away, falling onto Liam Walker's feet who clinically finished it off with a goal.
With Cabreras now on the right flank he once again broke through the defence where his cross reached Freitas umarked in the penalty area to score number six.
As the matched entered its final seconds Lincoln's defence ventured forward, this time it was JC (Garcia) who collected unmarked in the middle to make it seven. As Lions kicked off to restart the match the official blew for the end of the match. Lions defeated 7-1.
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Girls Football
10th March 2016
Girls can play Bishop Fitzgerald v St Bernard’s Middle School
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y too!
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The Interschool Football tournament continued this week. This time with four girls teams taking part. St Joseph's School, St Bernard's, St Anne's and Bishop Fitzgerald all participated in a round robin mini league where the 1st and 2nd placed would meet in the final.
The girls played two matches a day providing them with a chance to play each other.
The initiative is a collaboration between the GFA and the Department of Education. The girls tournament saw the matches overseen by both the grassroots development division of the GFA and the Women's division.
Last week saw the boy's interschool tournament, with the final to be played at the end of this week also.
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Girls Football
St Anne’s v St Joseph’s
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St Bernard’s v St Joseph
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St Anne’s v Bishop Fitzgerald
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Athletics
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34mins 36 seconds
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Rugby
10th March 2016
Scorpions edged it to the final
Super IVs champions Scorpions were pushed all the way to the last minute in what was a three quarter match against Buccaneers in the cup semi-final.
Scorpions who are now in the final might have won 61-55 but not before seeing Buccaneers leave their backs on the ground with three amazing last minute tries.
With the match nearly over, and having taken the lead at one point, Buccaneers were trailing behind when their
forwards stormed to an amazing finale.
A run from the other end of the pitch saw them inspired as Scorpions men clutched at their tired legs unable to chase. Within a minute another try was seen as Buccaneers run down the left leaving behind Scorpions defence. This prompted a call from a Scorpions player "I'm not gonna lose it now."
A failed kick by Scorpions gave the ball to Buccaneers who started edging forward. As they reached the centre line
their number 13 suddenly raced diagonally towards the left. A quick shimmy, a turn in the other direction through the middle of two backs left him free for the line.
Buccaneers had only seconds to go and were unable to claw back the deficit, losing by the mere 6 points. Another try and conversion would have given them the victory but it was too late.
Scorpions are now looking at the possibilities of a double, going into the final still unbeaten.
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Rugby
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Rugby
Inline Framing Sharks scored the first try of the match but it could have been very different. Nature group Stormers were to show from the first minute they were going to run at them when they could. Only an excellent blocking tackle in the last 20m stopped a free runner getting the first try.
Inline kept Stormers out with their hard tackling. Pushing the Stormers back through pure perseverance, not letting the ball die they eventually came up with their second try. A lack of conversions left them at 10-0.
Stormers went on to run at online again and pushed forward inching forward quite literally.
Stormers try came as they saw Inline's tackling stopping them just 2m from the line and then even on the line. Until a free space appeared to squeeze through for the 10-5.
The second half started with Stormers performing to their name. Storming forward at The Sharks who had lost a it of their bite.
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was able to pass back to see the try scored just under the post for an easy conversion. Sharks going ahead 17-5.
As Stormers tried to push forward the Sharks picked up on the halfway line and drove at them. Even a high tackle was ignored as they steamed for the line for another try which was again converted. The score now at 24-5 and inline running away with it.
Sharks were playing a simple pass and rush game to go forward which a deflated Stormers saw themselves losing ground. Now 29-5 after another try Stormers saw themselves a ban down as the official expelled a player. The Sharks immediately taking advantage with another try making it 34-5.
The Stormers had no further wind behind their sails and struggled to make head ways inside Sharks half. Sharks making though to the final.
Sharks take bit As the Stormers thought they had the edge the Sharks number thirteen slipped through the defence from the halfway line, weaving between defenders. As he was blocked within a metre of the line he
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te towards cup
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Volleyball
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A peek view at volleyball Agones Alwani v St Michael’s Cabin
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Judo and Jujitsu
10th March 2016
10th March 2016 Martial arts fighters competed in a Club competition at the Garrison Gym. This now are Gibraltar judo's temporary premises.
The event took place on the same day as World Book Day, which as Sensei Conroy explained meant lesser members usually turn up. The club boasts over 35 paid up judo members and another over 40 Jujitsu members, with many other non-members turning up for competitions or coaching during the weeks.
In this case just over 20 members for each competition participated.
Sensei Conroy explained that the competition was mainly in-house and allowed the young participants to have some competition experience. It also allowed the club to look at their members and select a team that would compete for the Strait Games and competitions organised against other clubs. Gibraltar has been competing sharing Club Cai, from Spain recently. The latter is due to visit Gibraltar in the coming weeks to compete.
Thursday's club competition saw both judo and jujitsu team competitions take place.
Three teams were selected amongst the youngster each team competing against the other. members for. Each team were chosen to the nearest level of experience and weight between them to make the fights balanced. There was no discrimination between boys and girls with mixed fights taking place.
Each team would fight each other and points for each individual fight would be given to the team.
First were the judo fighters with jujitsu fights immediately after on an over 3 hour. Teams received gold, silver and bronze medals after each category.
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short news Badminton changes its dates
Senior Badminton Championships which were going to be held from Mon 21st March to Wednesday 23rd March with all finals (approx 20) being played on the Wednesday evening. This includes all Senior A, B and C finals as well as Junior U14,U16 and18 finals will now be played earlier.
The GBA committee has decided to organise the Championships from Sunday 20th March to Tuesday 22nd March. All matches will be played from 6:30pm onwards. All finals will take place on the Tuesday followed by Presentation of Trophies. Once the Draw is made we will forward you further information on the finals. This is due to a clash of date with the international friendly to be played by Gibraltar on finals day.
Ticket Information Gibraltar v Liechtenstein & Gibraltar v Latvia
Tickets for Gibraltar’s International Friendlies in March 2016 will go on sale on Monday 7th March at 10am. Gibraltar play Liechtenstein on the 23.03.2016 and Latvia on the 29.03.2016. Both
matches will be played at the Victoria Stadium and kick off at 20:00hrs.
All Tickets (Except VIP tickets) will cost £5.00 and will be sold on a first come first served basis. Tickets can be purchased from the Gibraltar FA Headquarters at 62/64 Irish Town from 10am – 1pm and 2pm -5pm on weekdays and are sold on a cash only basis. There are no online sales for these fixtures and entry to the Victoria Stadium is strictly by ticket only.
There are also an extremely limited number of VIP tickets available at a cost of £35.00.
For more information please contact the Gibraltar FA on 200 42941.
Source GFA
Interschool finals
On Thursday 10th March the Interschool Football finals start at 16:15 on the Main Pitch at the Victoria Stadium. Two finals will be played, the
girls and boys.
Conclusion of a UEFA Club Licensing & Financial Fair Play Regional Workshop
The Gibraltar FA is pleased to announce the conclusion of a UEFA Club Licensing & Financial Fair Play Regional
10th March 2016 Workshop hosted by Gibraltar. The Gibraltar FA President, Mr. Michael Llamas QC, gave the opening address at the Workshop.
The Workshop took place over two days on the 2nd and 3rd March, and featured representatives from Andorra, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Northern Ireland, San Marino, Scotland and Wales as well as Gibraltar.
Presentations during the Workshop included discussions on the UEFA Club Licensing & FFP Unit, proposed new FIFA Club Licensing Regulations and the future objectives and direction of club licensing and financial fair play in Europe.
The Gibraltar FA’s General Secretary, Mr. Dennis Beiso, addressed the Workshop participants on Thursday on the process and challenges of becoming a UEFA member association whilst the Deputy General Secretary, Mr. Ivan Robba, presented on the subsequent impact of the introduction of club licensing in Gibraltar.
The Workshop, the first of its kind hosted by Gibraltar, was a huge success. Commenting on the event, Mr. Ivan Robba, who manages the licensing
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10th March 2016 process for Gibraltar, said:
It is an honour for us to be given the opportunity of hosting an official UEFA event within three years of our Membership. Club Licensing is mandatory for participation in UEFA Competitions, and has therefore become an essential process for our top clubs to reform internally and operate as modern and professional football clubs. I am delighted to say that the feedback from UEFA and participating Member Associations has been extremely positive, so this can only lead to bigger and better things for the Gibraltar FA in the future
UEFA’s Club Licensing Manager, Giancarlo Dapoto was delighted with the way the event went:
The commitment and support of the Gibraltar Football Association were vital in making this a hugely successful workshop with positive feedback having been received from all the participants. Such workshops are very important in terms of providing a platform for knowledge sharing and exchanges of best practice and it was extremely useful for the visiting member associations to learn more about club licensing in Gibraltar and to hear about the great strides that have been made by the Gibraltar Football Association in
recent years.
Source GFA www.gibraltarfa.com
Walking Football
The Gibraltar FA ‘Walking Football’ programme for over the 50’s will be launched on Friday the 11th March at 11:00 am on pitches 3 & 4 at the Victoria Stadium. This is a project that has been set up in conjunction with the GSLA and looks to get the over 50’s involved in a fun and recreational form of football.
New Cafeteria at Sports Hall
The new cafeteria/diner Dining 54 had its official opening reception last week with the Chief Minister present.
The facility is located at the Tercentenary Sports Hall and has already been well received by users when it partially opened its doors a fortnight ago.
The opening coincided with the European Netball under 17 championships on Friday.
13th Special Olympics European Football Conference.
The Gibraltar FA has today presented a Cheque to Gibraltar Special Olympics in order to fund the participation of their football coaches.
Gibraltar is the only Special Olympics member where a team participates in a UEFA endorsed league. The Gibraltar Special Olympics Futsal team being a full membe of the Futsal league.
Gibraltar United looking for youth coaches
The Gibraltar United Football Club, the only first division side to have maintained their squad 100% local is recruiting for youth coaches.
In an announcement made on Thursday they called for people wanting to coach across any of the youth categories as part of their initiative in Supporting Local Talent For The Future.
Over sixty basketball GFA supports Special players head to Canary Islands Olympics
As was reported by CoreSportGib last week Gibraltar Special Olympics will be participating in the
Over sixty basketball players from the U14, U16 and U18 leagues from CS Bayside Basketball, Europa F.C.,
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shorts news
Blue Stars Basketball and V. Wright Tech will be travelling to the Canary Islands to take part in technical workshops and matches. The visit has already featured in news services in the Canary Island and has already been hailed a success even before they arrive.
This week's fixtures First Divsion
MANCHESTER 62 FC VS ST.JOSEPH'S FC
Quarter-final
COLLEGE 1975 FC VS MANCHESTER 62 FC
Friday 18th March | 20:30
Quarter-final
LINCOLN RED IMPS FC VS GLACIS UNITED FC Saturday 19th March | 17:00
Quarter-final
LIONS GIBRALTAR FC VS GIBRALTAR UNITED FC Saturday 19th March | 19:30
Quarter-final
Saturday 12th March | 17:00
ANGELS FC VS EUROPA FC
Saturday 12th March | 19:30
Futsal 1st Division
LINCOLN RED IMPS FC VS GIBRALTAR UNITED FC
EUROPA FC VS GLACIS UNITED FC
Sunday 13th March | 16:30
ANGELS FC VS LIONS GIBRALTAR FC
Tuesday 15th March | 20:30
FC BRITANNIA XI VS LYNX FC
Rock Cup
Wednesday 16th March | 20:30
FUTSAL 1ST DIVISION 15/16
Saturday 12th March | 16:30
GIBRALTAR PHOENIX FC ECLIPSE VS LYNX FC
Saturday 12th March | 18:00
GLACIS UTD FC VS CANNON'S FC
Saturday 12th March | 19:30
COLLEGE 1975 VS MANCHESTER 62 FC
Saturday 12th March | 21:00
10th March 2016 GIB SCORPIONS FC VS ST.JOSEPH'S SPARK ENERGY
Hockey
Wednesday 16th March 2016 - 20:30hrs
Ladies & Development Hawks Ladies VS Grammarians Ladies
Netball
TUESDAY 15/03/2016 6:30pm VICTORIA Bright & Co V Agones/Alwani
TUESDAY 7:45pm VICTORIA Tommy Hilfiger V Trendy Tips
TUESDAY 9:00pm VICTORIA Atlantic Suites V Mons Calpe 7s
WEDNESDAY 16/03/2016 7:45pm VICTORIA 888 Sport Brightside
V
WEDNESDAY 9:00pm VICTORIA Eastgate V Nature Group Belles
THURSDAY 17/03/2016 7:15pm VICTORIA The Jazz Cafe V Marble Arc THURSDAY VICTORIA BGI Marbella Jets THURSDAY
8:30pm V 9:30pm
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10th March 2016 VICTORIA Ceramics Fruitshoots
D&H V
Basketball U16
Thu. 17 Mar. 4:00pm Europa - CS Bayside Argus
4:45pm Valmar Wrighttech - Isolas Blue Stars
A free publication still needs funding in order for it to be produced every week.
Basketball U 18
Tue. 15 Mar. 5:00pm Valmar Wrighttech - CS Bayside Argus
To keep it FREE we need your support.
6:30pm Isolas Blue Stars - Europa
Basketball Men's 2nd Div
Fri. 18 Mar. 7:45pm Europa B - Isolas Blue Stars Res.
9:15pm Valmar Wrighttech Res. Europa Youth
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Squash
16-Mar-16 A.K.S. v Safety Solutions
16-Mar-16 Eastgate v ifinancial
16-Mar-16 Nick's team D. & H. Ceramics
v
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