Match Report
England Netball
England Netball
Northern lights shine bright as Thunder blow away Storm
The start of The FIAT Netball Superleague 2012 campaign has seen two sides rise above all others and remain undefeated up to round 5. Northern Thunder and Surrey Storm have been in scintillating form so far this season and a capacity crowd at the Thunderdome were hoping to witness a classic battle. However, at the end of the first quarter most fans in attendance could be forgiven for thinking that the game was almost over as the hosts dominated the first half leaving their opponents fifteen goals behind and effectively out of the contest.
The evening got off to a controversial start with questions surrounding Tamsin Greenway’s fitness dominating the pre-match talk and worst fears for away fans were confirmed as the player-coach started the game on the bench to protect a strained hamstring. Adele Modeste was her replacement at WA for Storm as this hotly anticipated clash got underway. The match started scrappy with Sara Bayman being called for holding onto the ball too long and Hannah Reid for footwork as possession was passed between the teams. Janelle Lawson was first to find the net and with a quick turnover, the Aussie shooter secured a quick hat-trick to take her side into a 3-0 lead. England international Pamela Cookey responded for the visitors as they got on the scoreboard as a fast paced game broke out with pressure being applied across the court. Emma Dovey was next to show her class with a simple intercept to set Thunder racing up court in a pulsating move which ended with a neat one-two between Bayman and Lawson for another score. The attacking movement between Lawson and Karen Greig was a joy to watch, while Bayman was delighting the crowd with sumptuous feeds into the circle, direct and full of pace as the England mid-courter has been known to produce.
Storm were still fighting and battling but were unable to create as many chances for their dangerous attacking duo of Cookey and Rachel Dunn and frustration was starting to set in. This was highlighted when Katy Holland was called for replaying the ball; this provoked a loud reaction from the bench who were duly told to quieten by the umpire. The mid-court from Thunder were starting to control the game and with Laura Malcolm now getting more and more into her stride, the defence was looking solid. With confidence high and a rhythm found, the lead continued to increase for the home side and with Beth Cobden securing a late turnover for the Thunder to score a last gasp goal, they were ahead 19-8 after an exhilarating opening quarter.
With the lead at eleven, Tracey Neville took the chance to alter her shooting circle as Krista Enziano came on for Greig. It didn’t take long for the replacement to have an impact as she immediately linked well with Lawson to score and the Aussie rapidly made it two without reply. Defence then controlled the next passage of play as neither side could find a final pass with turnovers happening at a rate of knots. Lawson finally bucked the trend by hitting a trademark long range shot with the kind of arc in her shot that would make Noah proud. Respite was only gained for the away team when Becky Trippick called a medical time-out after taking a knock to her ankle. The Storm captain was ok to continue but her side continued to struggle. The usually unflappable Dunn was missing in the circle and the combo of Dovey and Kerry Almond were quick to snatch rebounds and get Thunder attacking once more. Storm were coping with their opponents better than the first quarter but the creative spark usually supplied by Greenway was an obvious loss to the team and although Cookey and Dunn did secure some late joy for the visitors, they still trailed 34-19 at the interval.
Kat Ainsworth replaced Trippick at half-time for Storm while Greig was back on at GS for Thunder as Neville also brought on Rachel Henry at WA to replace a hard working Cobden. The pattern of the previous quarter continued as the teams exchanged scores but Thunder were looking more composed in the circle with the duo from the first quarter connecting instantly once more, Greig was looking particularly good, scoring with several long range attempts to the joy of the home support. Storm were still scoring but lacked the incisiveness of their opponents play but Dunn was starting to impose herself more in the circle midway through the quarter and Thunder had forged 45-27 ahead. The only negative for the hosts was an ankle injury to Lawson who had to be replaced by Kathryn Turner, it seemed more of a precaution from Neville to replace their impressive shooter. The connection was still not there in the mid-court for Storm and it was summed up by a misdirected feed from Ainsworth that went long, allowing Thunder to race up court and Greig to score from the turnover, the lead was 20 heading into the final quarter, 53-33 to the home side.
Dunn and Cookey swapped positions at the start of the final quarter but the latter was still dropping deep in search of the ball and acting as playmaker, she found her England team mate early on under the post as Storm started brightly to score a trio of unopposed goals. The tempo was notably slower as the game reached a climax with the passing and movement looking more lapse, this gave rise to a number of tips and intercepts as the game reached an inevitable conclusion. The visitors ended the game on a slight high as last minute Dunn scored which saw them win their first quarter, albeit by the solitary goal. A nineteen goal winning margin tells the story of this battle and secured Thunder their place in the top four for the second phase of the season, the first franchise to do so. Storm will pick themselves up and learn from this game and will undoubtedly be counting down the days until they get their chance of revenge back in Surrey later in the season.
Starting Line ups:
Northern Thunder: GS - Greig, GA - Lawson, WA - Cobden, C – Bayman, WD – Malcolm, GD - Dovey, GK - Almond. Bench: Henry, Turner, Lodge, Enziano, Bloomfield
Surrey Storm: GS - Dunn, GA - Cookey, WA - Modeste, C - Trippick, WD - Seaton, GD - Holland, GK - Reid. Bench: Bello, Greenway, Betsy, Ainsworth, McHale
Umpires: Judith Groves and Ian Fuller with Sarah Watts as reserve