Tiana Knox reports from Kedleston Road
Katie Bradley was ecstatic after Derby firsts recorded their second triumph of their campaign, beating Nottingham Trent fourths at Kedleston Road.
The Derby goal-attack said: “It was really nice to get our second win of the season today, especially against a good side.”
The first quarter saw end-to-end action, both teams creating promising opportunities, with Nottingham Trent starting strongly, but Derby found their feet as time went on.
Despite being behind in the first break, Bradley said: “You keep your head in the game, you keep doing what you know.”
Derby displayed dominance in the second quarter, netting the first three goals, levelling the score almost immediately.
The strong shooting partnership of Kemp and Bradley showed, ending these 15 minutes with Derby ahead, and a score of 17-14.
The home side extended their lead in the third quarter, with nine of their 12 goals in this passage coming from Bradley.
She said: “I thought I got some good drives, some good shooting in, which was nice.”
She also acknowledged her team’s efforts in feeding the ball up to her, commenting: “I think we worked well around the D.”
The visitors made a few tactical changes to their attack, but Derby managed to adapt and maintain the lead, ending 29-23 to the home side.
In a tense final quarter, Trent’s goal attack Abi Lawlor posed the main threat, with the opposition clearly pushing to level the score.
Commenting on the pressure, Bradley said: “Sometimes it gets to you, trying to figure out whether to shoot or pass, but I’ve learnt to deal with it.”
Derby kept composure, seeing out the game with a convincing 37-30 win, giving them a lift after a tough season so far.
Bradley said: “It was good to win this one: it’s given us a lot of confidence, and a drive to win the away fixture as well.”
They will be looking to carry today’s performance into next week’s reverse fixture in Nottingham, in the Midlands Tier 4B League.
