Loughborough Lightning 34 - 65 Team Bath
They often say when you are losing games that luck is even harder to come
by than victories, and those in attendance at the Loughborough University Netball Centre on Saturday will perhaps now appreciate this statement, as Loughborough Lightning, despite periods of brilliance, were unable to overcome Hertfordshire Mavericks in their latest Fiat Superleague fixture,
falling to a disappointing 65-34 defeat.
Contrary to what the scoreline suggested, it was by no means a whitewash,
as Lightning, showed that their position at the foot of the league table
was not truly reflective of their performances. And this view was echoed by coach Olivia Murphy, who, despite pointing out her side’s need to improve,
was keen to recognise their progression from last week's defeat to Bath.
“There were definitely more positives to take out of today’s game”, she
stated.
“Unfortunately, however the score-line didn’t reflect this and there are
still plenty of improvements to be made.”
Despite Monday’s defeat to Team Bath, Murphy made just the one change to
her side, with youngster Jordan Moxey replacing Michaela MacFarlane at wing
attack. Mavericks, in a similar fashion to previous visitors Team Bath,
boasted a strong attack with the experienced Sasha Corbin starting in the
centre court. There was also a return for ex Lightning fans’ favourite
Tulissa Haynes on the visitors' bench.
The opening quarter of the match typified Lighting’s play this season – the
good, the bad and the frustrating, as they started the quarter with energy
and exuberance, but once again nerves came into play, allowing Mavericks to
punish and convert.
An early overturned centre suggested that perhaps this could be Lightning’s
day, and the sell out crowd were soon on their feet willing their side on.
However, Mavericks, hot from victory over Team Northumbria, were just as up
for the fight, and they soon overturned the following centre to draw the
scores level.
As the game progressed, Lightning at times controlled possession, using the
defensive support of Nicola Caunt and Jodie Gibson well, however Mavericks’
defence was equally as hot, and soon thwarted Lightning’s ideas to get into
their attacking circle. And as we have seen many times this season, they
soon capitalized on Lightning’s hesitance, their turnovers being converted
as Corbin’s pinpoint feeds found their on-fire shooters.
An injury time break from Sophia Candappa could not have come at a better
time for Lightning, as it provided them with the opportunity to regroup.
However despite an improvement upon the restart, Mavericks still saw out
the quarter 16-8 up.
The second quarter appeared to be much of the same with an early turnover
from Mavericks’ Josie Huckle signaling the visitors’ intent. Again as
Lightning attempted to break forward, they struggled to find their
shooters, and despite some good play on the circle edge from Moxley, they
often looked to be lacking ideas.
As Mavericks piled on the pressure, Lightning were forced to try their luck
from distance; fortunately Becky James was reliable as ever, converting
shots that in reality she had no right to make. Half time score 31-16 to
Mavericks.
Whilst the visitors rung the changes at half time, Lightning opted for the
soul change, introducing Afrika Morris at Forbes-Wattley at goal keeper.
And as the opening few moments of the third quarter began frantically,
there was a suggestion that perhaps Lightning could capitalize and take the
game to the opposition. However despite moving Caunt back to double up on
the impressive Vicklyn Joseph at goal shooter, the height difference proved
too much and Mavericks soon found their feet.
Lightning too clearly realized the need to inject height into their own
shooting circle, as a time out saw the introduction of Lianne Badmin, with
Mason moving to the bench. Despite injecting a new lease of life into
purples, the Mavericks defence were taking no prisoners and by the end of
the quarter, the game was all but out of sight with Mavericks leading 49-20.
Going into the final quarter, Murphy decided to switch Candappa and Moxey
around, in the attempt to show more assertiveness in attack. And it
appeared to pay off, as this was arguably Lightning’s most impressive
quarter, as they almost doubled their tally of goals for the whole match.
Despite continued commanding defensive work from Mavericks, in a similar
fashion to their opponents, Lightning began to make the long ball into
Badmin work. A culmination of this, as well as upping their tempo across
the court ensured that, although it may not have been enough to give
Mavericks a fright about the result, it was enough to ensure the fans left
the netball centre feeling more upbeat.
As Lightning continued their resurgence, the final whistle blew with the
score reading 65-34 to Hertfordshire Mavericks.
Despite being relieved at her sides’ improvements, Murphy was honest about
her side’s need to improve.
“We got ourselves into good positions today but again we failed to
capitalize on our opportunities.
As a newly retired coach, the former England captain’s desire to see her
side improve was evident, as she explained, “I am desperate to see a
reduction in the number of errors made by our team because these are
allowing opposition teams to make significant runs on us and taking us out
of the game.”
“Defensively we didn’t deal well enough with Mavericks shooters, and that’s
something we have to work on in preparation for our away fixture against
Yorkshire Jets on Friday.”
As phase one of the newly organized Fiat Superleague draws to a close this
weekend, Loughborough Lightning urges fans to check their website (
www.loughboroughlightning.co.uk) on 3rd March for an announcement regarding
the upcoming fixtures in phase two.
Loughborough Lightning
GS- Becky James (Capt), GA- Olivia Mason, WA- Jordan Moxley, C- Sophia
Candappa, WD- Jodie Gibson, GD- Nicola Caunt, GK- Jade Forbes- Wattley
Subs: Lianne Badmin, Michaella McFarlane, Jenny Montgomery, Alex Sinclair,
Afrika Morris
By Kelly Somers
