Prides punish misfiring Falmouth

Pride Of Portree - 420* vs Falmouth Falcons - 400

	Falcons	Prides
Keeper	Frobisher	McCormack
Chasers	Meadows (C)	McNewton
	Goodfellow	Claverdon
	Smudgeley	Mordaunt
Beaters	Bundy	Van Hoorn
	Wagtail	Stroulger (C)
Seeker	Boyle	McBride

The Falmouth Falcons, aside from their majestic leader Marina Grinderford, have not looked entirely convincing in 2012. However a Top Four place looked almost assured, with third distinctly likely, thanks to a friendly run home.

After the spirited but hardly intimidating Prides this week, the Falcons end their season with matches against Puddlemere and Chudley, undoubtedly the League’s two worst teams currently.

With this future context in mind, as well as the fact that last round’s bye should have suitably rested her, it seemed a strange decision to choose this week for Marina Grinderford’s match off.

Stand-in captain Fairfax Meadows explained that single week rests are of little use and merely pull a player out of her rhythm, but with the bye preceding the thought process was that Grinderford could take a genuine extended rest to energize for the big finals push.

The only change for the Prides was also an unexpected one. Stephanie Pilliwickle’s recent form had been scratchy, lacking the efficiency and enthusiasm of earlier in the season, but surely she was not yet at the level of being dropped. But a concerning mystery illness has rendered her bedridden and purple, paving for the way for Maisie Mordaunt to make one final argument against the case that her long career is as good as over.

Any Portree hopes that Falmouth would be utterly lifeless without their taliswoman were unfortunately unfounded, but there was no doubt that Grinderford’s absence left a gaping hole in their Chaser attack. Her strapping replacement Rolanda Smudgeley, certainly provided the trademark Falcons brutality, but the cutting edge wasn’t there.

However The Falcons sans-Grinderford should still be a comfortably better team than the Prides, which was how it proved. Terrence Stroulger and Mordred Van Hoorn invariably stood out for the Prides, limiting the flat Falcon offense. But the Prides were simply unavailable to score enough goals to stay close.

As the Falcon lead snailed upwards, Pride hopes rested on Musidora McBride, who knew she should surely have the upper hand over Zinnia Boyle, who was retained for the Falcons despite a less than convincing debut performance two weeks earlier.

Boyle caught first sight of the snitch, once again highlighting the crippling weakness of McBride’s eye. But it was quickly clear that only one Seeker was ever going to catch the snitch. Boyle seemed intent on trying to prove her flying intelligence was even worse than her plain to see poor agility and speed.

McBride duly caught the snitch, but only after a chase of more than twenty minutes. A few more would have made all the difference for the Falcons. A run of quick goals, led brilliantly by Fairfax Meadows, snuck the Falcons towards a lead of 150, but they ran out of time. McBride’s catch sealing a vital upset victory to keep the Prides’ (extraordinarily slim) mathematical finals hopes alive.

It all felt rather inevitable though in a way, as if the resting of Grinderford was playing with fire. 

Pride Of Portree - 420: McNewton 15, Claverdon 6, Mordaunt 6, McBride Capture
Falmouth Falcons - 400: Meadows 18, Goodfellow 15, Smudgeley 7

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: FAIRFAX MEADOWS (FALCONS)