Ballycastle escape with surprise tie against dogged Harpies

Holyhead Harpies - 520 vs Ballycastle Bats - 520*

	Bats	Harpies
Keeper	Alford	Weatherwax
Chasers	Quigley	Glossop (C)
	Prod	Gladstone
	Thomsonicle	Birchgrove
Beaters	Nutter	Tolipan
	Smeek	Gibberd
Seeker	Shettigar (C)	Bloch

The Holyhead Harpies were forced to follow up their tough loss to the Wasps with a bye week, leaving them desperate to get back into the habit of winning. The Ballycastle Bats have been slowly improving and despite losing last week, stuck with their experienced all-international line-up, knowing a win today was vital to keep their slim finals hopes alive.

The early running showed just how rusty Holyhead’s bye had left them, with Irish star Demeter Quigley dominating the first hour for the Bats. Ballycastle dictated the Beater contest, with the experience Nobby Nutter and Rubens Smeek neutralizing the haggard looking Talulah Tolipan, while the newly re-picked Rohesia Gibberd was slow to get back into the zone.

With the Bats leading early, it came down to the Harpies’ Chaser trio to save the day. All three bring a wealth of experience to their completely different roles. Captain Gwenevak Glossop of course commands the respect of all in Quidditch circles, running the show with vigour and aplomb. With Glossop holding the fort, Generys Gladstone is left to rough up the opposition while Gweneth Birchgrove racks up the goals.

The Bats may lack any standout spectacular talent, but their experience and discipline made it a long hard slog for the Harpies’, who finally hit the front for the first time past the three hour point.

Two sides of such advanced years were always destined to play a tough and defensively dominated encounter. The Harpies’ slowly ticked the scoreboard over, but the Bats were always dangerously in range for a trademark Shettigar special. Glossop pressed hard, recognising the threat Ajax Shettigar poses even against her own star Seeker Zelda Bloch. As the final minutes of the sixth hour wound down, with substitutions pending and Shettigar fading through fatigue, Holyhead’s attack stepped down a level.

But Shettigar needs only scant seconds to punish the opposition. Through Holyhead’s laziness, the Bats were able to just hold on by the skin of their teeth to a 150 point deficit. Shettigar pounced in the fifty ninth minute of the sixth hour, securing a maddening but dramatic second draw for the season for Ballycastle.

Holyhead Harpies - 520: Birchgrove 26, Glossop 19, Gladstone 7

Ballycastle Bats - 520: Quigley 27, Prod 7, Thomsonicle 3, Shettigar Snatch

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: GWENEVAK GLOSSOP (HARPIES)