A YOUNG Home James Black team could not have cut it much finer when they staged a comeback from a seven-goal deficit against Romsey Ladies.

With rain to cope with in the last summer league fixture of 2003, the game started evenly as the wet courts made both teams cautious.

Home James needed to be more assertive with their passing and move at the right time to ensure that Romsey had little chance of any interceptions.

The rain stopped so the players were able to become more confident on court and drive more for the ball.

The first quarter was low-scoring due to both teams making mistakes. The Home James goalkeeper worked well by denying Romsey goal chances but they were still trailing 5-1 at the break.

A few changes by the coach, Chris Grainger, started to bring a bit of life into Home James' play and the standard picked up.

But the girls then seemed to switch off slightly and Romsey scored four goals in quick succession to put the young Home James team under a bit of pressure.

Home James trailed by seven goals at half time and needed to put on a better display after the break - and that was exactly what they did.

They fought back superbly, working as a team much better and, as they started to catch Romsey, their confidence grew.

Going into the last quarter, they were only one goal down but the girls had to ensure they kept their concentration for another ten minutes to make sure of a win.

It was very close with neither team wanting to give up but Home James worked hard for each other, even though it took them a time to warm up, and won 16-15 in the end.

LET'S MEET THE TEAM:

Goal shooter - Amy Lush, 14, a pupil at King Edward V1 School, also plays tennis for school and Compton Tennis Club. She joined Home James after a recommendation from her PE teacher, Mrs Henderson.

Goal attack - Holly Dwyer, 15, attends Mountbatten School and has been playing since she was six or seven years old. Wants to work in medicine when leaving school. Holly plays netball for enjoyment - which is even nicer when they win!

Wing attack - Shelene Coetzer, a South African pupil at the Atherley School, has been in the UK for six months. Her great uncle lives next door to Chris Grainger, so that is why she joined Home James. Shelene's ambition is to play to the highest level she can.

Centre - Kitty Dwyer, 13, attends Mountbatten School. Sister of Holly, she has been playing since she was six. She also takes part in gymnastics.

Wing defence - Joanne Clark, 14, attends Romsey School and has been playing for Home James for about three years. Her dream destination for a holiday is Australia. Joanne wants to be a physiotherapist or a PE teacher. She enjoys the team aspect of netball.

Goal defence - Gemma Fitzsimmonds,15, attends Wyvern. She has been playing for seven years, having enjoyed the game at school. Gemma also plays for the Mid Hants County team. She also plays rugby at number 13, outside centre, for Eastleigh.

Goalkeeper - Shelley Gosney,13, attends Regents Park Girls School and has been playing netball since she was six. Her sister also plays for the Home James Club. Shelley likes being part of a team. She wants to be a primary school teacher. She also enjoys going into town and the cinema. Shelley also plays for Mid Hants, South Region England squad and her ambition is to play for England.