MATCH PREVIEW | Strathclyde Sirens vs Saracens Mavericks (NSL Rd 6)
Goal Shooter Ine-Mari Venter is looking for her side to kick on again, after a positive victory over Team Bath last weekend.
Mavs’ second win of the season also coincided with Venter making her first start of the campaign, having recovered from injury and she admitted that she was thrilled to be back on court.
“Coming back from injury is still a process, but to finally be back on court for the full 60 minutes was brilliant. There’s still loads to work on, and my match fitness isn’t quite there yet, but it was a good start and I know there’s more to come.”
The victory was a statement one for Mavericks and Venter believes that her side are starting to put their structures in place on the court on a consistent basis.
“It was really important for us. We’re starting to really cement the structures we have and actually execute them on court now. We were pleased to get over the line.”
Sirens may be winless so far this campaign, but they drew a thriller with Mavericks back in pre-season. Scotland has been a place that Mavericks have notoriously struggled to secure a win in, and Venter knows that they will have to have to continue on their upward trajectory if they are to secure the victory.
“We’ve historically not done well when we’ve made the trip to Scotland! This is an important game for us to build consistent structures and be more consistent on court. We’ve made some adjustments, but we need to build on the performance against Bath. That win can’t be a one-off or a fluke. We need to find the consistency and we know there are going to be challenges. But the biggest challenge is going to be within us as a group. We need to keep our structures and not worry about what has come before.”
Head Coach Camilla Buchanan has talked about her side having a reset to their season and Venter admitted that some honest conversations had been had within the group, as they look to kick on and develop their game.
“After the Loughborough game, we had a chat as players and some honest conversations. We were very proactive in terms of assessing what needed to change and improve and we’ve done that immediately. We recognise that these last two fixtures against Bath and now Sirens have very much been a reset to the season. We want to do well as a side. We had some mixed results to start the campaign, but we have a real perspective now on where we are as a team. We know where we want to be, and we want to come back from Scotland with a win.”
