Match Report
England Netball
England Netball
What a difference a day makes! England surged into the Final with a phenomenal win over their old rivals, Australia. The curse of winning the group and then failing in the knockout stages strikes again as the Diamonds have to settle for the bronze medal match. In front of a frantic home crowd, the England team delivered with staunch defending, smooth feeds and ice cool shooting.
The first quarter was tight affair but England were much brighter from the opening whistle than they had been in previous matches. The action was being played out at lightning speed as Susan Pratley and Jo Harten exchanged scores. The quarter ended with Harten rattling the ring with a two point attempt that refused to drop, 5-5.
England really turned on the style at the start of the second quarter as the defensive duo of Eboni Beckford-Chambers and Stacey Francis pressured the Diamonds into mistakes. They were making tips, stealing ball and clutching rebounds, it was inspiring to watch. Serena Guthrie was putting in her usual selfless performance and Jade Clarke was patrolling the mid-court. This gave Sasha Corbin the freedom to find some inch perfect feeds for Pamela Cookey and Harten, and they weren’t missing. A last second goal from Harten made the half-time score 12 – 8 to the hosts.
Quarter three saw both benches hit the magic red button and take their Powerplay. Double points meant that the three goal could be eradicated with one good long range attempt. It proven notoriously tricky for England in previous matches but not today, they gobbled up the chances and raced clear. Every Aussie miss was punished and the fans started to feel they were witnessing something special. England were recycling the ball expertly and the movement was fantastic in the mid-court as the team waited patiently for gaps to open. A frenetic six minutes saw the home side pull clear into a 22 – 12 lead.
The final quarter followed the same pattern as the opener we both sides cancelling each other out. England started strongly and were still competing for every ball, Guthrie made a particularly sensational intercept, leaving the Australian WA with open arms but no ball. The ten point gap was too big to overcome and realistically England had won the game in the previous three quarters. The crowd counted down the clock and burst into ecstatic applause as the umpires signalled the end of proceedings.
England Netball caught up with the sharp shooting Harten after the game and she admitted that focus was now firmly on the final “We have to keep our heads and push on for the final. We had a few mistakes yesterday and Friday and weren’t playing our normal game, we put it out against Australia, it’s just playing our own simple game today. Both New Zealand and Jamaica are fierce competitors, so either way we are going to bring it!”
The ice cool attacker admitted an improvement was made in the circle today, she said “I don’t think you can be erratic when shooting or going for a two pointer, so it was definitely cool, calm and collected today. The crowd are amazing, every time you score a normal goal but every time you score a two pointer they go through the roof, it’s amazing.”
It was a case of high fives and hugs all round from the team at the end of the game as they went off to contemplate a final for the second year in a row. For Australia it was more heartbreak against England who fall at the semi-final stage once again.