Harpies outclassed by re-energised Wasps

Wimbourne Wasps - 700 vs Holyhead Harpies - 430*

	Harpies	Wasps
Keeper	Weatherwax	Brookstanton (C)
Chasers	Glossop (C)	Aldermaston
	Gladstone	Branstone
	Birchgrove	Johnston
Beaters	Tolipan	Nutt
	Samuels	Oddpick
Seeker	Bloch	Hansen

With dramatic chapters at Ellis Moor and Exmoor passed, it was to Bodmin Moor for the third and final instalment of the highly-charged triangle between three great modern rivals, the Harpies, Wasps and Arrows.

It was the respective performances of these two teams against the Arrows which gave this match its intrigue. Two rounds ago the unthinkable happened; the Wimbourne Wasps were beaten, by a near flawless performance of spirit and guile from the Appleby Arrows. But while the Wasps subsequently sat and stewed in the unexpected despair of defeat last week, the Arrows found themselves toppled by the Holyhead Harpies.

Now here stood the Harpies and the Wasps, ready for battle.

Such was the concern following the loss, the Wasps saw fit to make changes to their-all star squad. Welsh international Bruno Pippins was demoted to the bench in favour of Wilhemina Aldermaston who was one of the few positives out of the Arrows match. The big news though was that just two months after being touted as the greatest young Seeker in a generation, the inconsistent and error-prone Venus Vogler was out, with perpetual everyman Sergius Hansen earning his first start with the Wasps.

The Harpies’ team was unchanged, but familiarity was no advantage early on in the all-girl Chaser battle, with the Wasps’ unprecedented decision to start with a female Chaser trio paid off handsomely. Aldermaston was slow to get going and featured little in attack, but held the fort admirably while Delphine Branstone and Jadzia Johnston went on a goal-scoring rampage.

Having started so strongly, the weight of professional Quidditch seemed to have finaly caught up with the Harpies’ seventeen year old rookie Keeper Filemina Weatherwax.

While the Harpies’ Chasers fought gallantly, they were only unable to stay within range potentially, rather than truly threatening. But between Weatherwax’s increasingly frayed leakiness, and Talulah Tolipan and Glynis Samuels being thoroughly trounced in the Beater contest by Gaius Nutt and Erasmus Oddpick, Holyhead never stood a chance.

However one notable issue remained for Wimbourne. Sergus Hansen was lethargic and the majority of the time clearly lagged reactively behind Zelda Bloch. At every half-sight of the snitch it was Bloch who looked by far the more likely to pounce. Hansen in turn had all the unconvincing erring of Vogler, without her natural athleticism. They sure must be missing the heady days of Chroniculus Furmage. His influenced feels so astonishingly distant now considering he retired only at the end of 2011.

With the Wasps margin blowing out further and the veteran Harpies chasers clearly folding further under the strain, Bloch was right to recognise that little could be done except to take the catch and minimize the damage. When the snitch made its presence known once again, Bloch snared it almost immediately and effortlessly, ending the match on a rare positive. But it was a grim day for the Harpies, whose true credentials to genuinely make a title challenge must be questioned.

The Wasps were efficient and complete. The slip-up against Appleby looks to have been a one-off. But it remains to be seen whether they can match the Magpies who still look the more deadly team.

Wimbourne Wasps - 700: Johnston 38, Branstone 23, Aldermaston 9

Holyhead Harpies - 430: Birchgrove 19, Gladstone 5, Glossop 4, Bloch Capture

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: DELPHINE BRANSTONE (WASPS)