Match Report
England Netball
England Netball
The crowd at the Echo Arena witnessed a sensational match for the third game in a row as England managed to recover from an earlier defeat to secure a much needed win over South Africa. The Proteas had threatened a shock after taking the first quarter but an awful Powerplay cost them the victory as England sauntered to victory.
The opening exchanges were disjointed as both sides conceded possession easily and failed to find their feeds. South Africa were just about nudging in front and at one stage were 4 – 1 ahead. Pamela Cookey led the England surge and ensured that the visitors didn’t get too far in front and England headed off court trailing 7 – 5 at the end of the first quarter.
For the second occasion of the day, a Powerplay was taken in the second quarter. The Proteas ignored the fact that it failed to work out for England against Australia and decided to try and gain a large lead and hope that scoreboard pressure would get to their hosts. This backfired in amazing fashion as the South Africans failed to register a single goal in the six minutes. Eboni Beckford-Chambers was again having an amazing game, and left most of the crowd assuming she is related to Stretch Armstrong.
Alongside Stacey Francis, the England defence refused to budge, and with Serena Guthrie and Jade Clarke helping the transition, England surprisingly won the quarter 4-0 and with it took any realistic chances of an upset. It was a true master class in how to defend in the Powerplay period. Anna Mayes decided against using the England Powerplay straight away and instead let the team stay ahead in what was a miserly third quarter which finished with this hosts leading 12 – 10.
England elected to wait until the final quarter to use Powerplay and they had already realised that sensible netball would undoubtedly lead to a win. There was excellent use of the hands around the circle as the mid-court sparked into life, with Sasha and Kadeen Corbin both working to good effect. Rachel Dunn took a small tumble and required ice treatment but she looks fit enough to continue this weekend. The icing on the cherry was an outrageous four pointer from Harten to seal victory and ensure that England now look certain to make the top four.
Next up is a match against a resurgent Jamaican side this evening which could have huge implications on the semi-final line-up. South Africa head into their final match against Australia knowing that anything other than a win will consign them to the 5th place play-off.