The opening weekend of the Women’s Division One in Guildford brought mixed results for our First Team.
Playing as Penguin Emperors, our first game of the season against London rivals Otter was something of a wake-up call when they went three goals ahead within a matter of minutes. We came back in the 2nd and 3rd quarters but couldn’t do enough to win. Final score Penguin 4, Otter 7.
Next up was one of our top four rivals – Sheffield. We needed to pick ourselves up as we knew it would be a tough game. The match was close and we drew 8-8.
On Sunday we met newcomers into Division One, Leeds. We started well with shots finding the back of the net from the word go and held our lead to win 14-2.
Coach Balazs Kis commented on the game, “This weekend is not something we want to remember in Penguin history, but the beginning of the season is always hard. The game against Otter was the first time these players had all been together in the water, and I wasn’t happy with the attitude of a few of our experienced players. The match was a good wake up call for everyone, and I’m sure we’ll look back on it as our worst game of the season.”
“In the other two games we played better as a team. This is positive for the future… This team has great potential, but we have to work together to pull our new players into an established squad.”
“I hope the referees in the next British League weekends will let us play more and be more accepting of our international water polo style.”
Bench shot, left to right: Tasja Botha. Rebecca Grace, Joss Bretherick, Claire Martin, Silvia Szabo