Westside 48 Newcastle Town 45.

WESTSIDE made a winning start to their West Midlands Regional Netball League Division 1 programme after gaining promotion at the end of last season.

The Hereford-based side faced last season’s third-placed club, Newcastle Town from Staffordshire, and with their two previous meetings in 2006 going in Newcastle's favour, Westside knew they had a tough task.

Westside had a tough pre-season training and have suffered one or two injuries which saw them unable to start with their familiar defensive line up but newly-signed Shelley Hudson, from Shropshire, took to the starting line up at goal keeper, with Sophie Wright GD, Mel Hunt WD, Jaydee Hunt Centre, Jemma Bearcroft WA, Kerry Amos GA and Debbie Bowdley GS.

The game started fast and physical with neither team making any faults and putting pressure on their opposition to break form.

The first quarter ended 11-goals all and the game continued throughout with end to end play and both teams displaying excellent attacking moves.

Westside managed to pull away to a seven-goal lead during the third quarter only to see Newcastle pull back to take a 34-33 lead.

Westside stuck with their starting line up throughout the game, but Newcastle made changes at GK, WD, C and WA which broke their flow.

The new defensive combination of Hudson and Wright put pressure on Newcastle's attack while, at the opposite end, Amos and Bowdley did not faulter under the intense pressure of the Newcastle defence.

Further team changes for the last quarter saw Newcastle make a final bid to take control of the game, but Westside produced an excellent team performance and appeared physically stronger and fitter than their opposition.

Newcastle were unable to stop the quick moves and decision-making of Westside's centre court and attack which saw them dominate the final quarter and end the game in the city side’s favour.

Player of the match went to Sophie Wright at goal defence who gave an outstanding defensive display.

"I am extremely pleased and proud of Westside's performance, ” said captain Jaydee Hunt. “We have worked hard as a team during pre-season and have now proven that we can compete with the top teams in the region.

“Today came down to team work and cohesion and when our opposition faulted at key moments, we didn’t and this gave us the upper hand."