Royston 34 Eastwood 37 ROYSTON will take heart from this performance despite narrowly losing out to championship contenders Eastwood. Still without Anna Pinner, Royston put Emma Winser back into defence alongside Jo Moxham and started the better of the tw

Royston 34 Eastwood 37

ROYSTON will take heart from this performance despite narrowly losing out to championship contenders Eastwood.

Still without Anna Pinner, Royston put Emma Winser back into defence alongside Jo Moxham and started the better of the two teams by scoring four goals in quick succession

At the end of the first quarter Royston were in front, and in the second the home team improved on their game with their defenders intercepting passes and pushing the ball forward to their waiting shooters who sent Royston in at half time with a four point lead.

The team remained unchanged for the third quarter and although Moxham and Winser did an excellent job in pushing Eastwood's shooters to the edge of the circle, their visitors were able to make some good long range shots to narrow Royston's lead to two points.

In a tense last quarter the ball was up and down the court in an end-to-end battle and although player-of-the-match Tracy Stimson was converting as many goals as possible, Eastwood were able to get a couple of lucky turnovers which they scored to seal the game.

Although a loss for Royston, the team's morale will have boosted by the close scoreline against one of the better teams in the league.

ROYSTON: Huttlestone, Rooney, White, Moxham, Winser, Williams, St John, Hume, Stimson and Pledger.