Loughborough Lightning 52- Team Bath 50-Fiat Netball Superleague
Lightning earn victory over Bath in season thriller
Loughborough Lightning took on Team Bath on Sunday 27th March in the Fiat Superleague at the Loughborough Netball Centre. Coach Olivia Murphy had dubbed Bath as ‘not unbeatable’ following her side’s victory over Glasgow Wildcats the previous Monday. However, following an away defeat the day before to Northern Thunder, Lightning were going to have to bounce back with a vengeance to prove her right. And in a match dubbed by many as the best they have seen in years, Lightning did just that, stealing victory from Bath in the dying moments of the final quarter to take the game 52-50.
Murphy kept her team relatively unchanged from the side that finished against Glasgow Wildcats, with Becky James restoring her place in the starting line up. Following a vigilant second half display in defence, the solid Emma Bliss and agile Masego Motaung started at goal defence and wing defence respectively. The most noticeable inclusion in an admittedly injury hit Bath side was that of ex Lightning player Katy Rose at wing attack; the battle between her and Motaung was set to be an interesting one.
As the game got underway, the tone of the game was soon set, with both sides having to work hard when in possession to get round the vigilant sets of defences. Lightning’s Afrika Morris, in particular, asserted her presence on Bath goal shooter Rosie Allison, which resulted in words of warning from umpire Debbie King.
It was evident at the other end that Bath had done their homework on Lightning captain Jo Harten. Finding her often double marked, both Sarah Jane O’Sullivan and Murphy in the Lightning centre court impressed as they placed some impeccable balls into their talisman. As the quarter time whistle went, Lightning found themselves having the slightest edge over Bath, taking the quarter 12-11.
Despite the array of changes Bath made to their team at quarter time, it was Lightning that started the second quarter better, scoring four unanswered goals. As the tempo in the netball centre escalated, fans began to wonder; could they knock giant killers Bath down?
However, with the scoreboard reaching 17-12, Lightning’s shooting started to let them down as Bath forced them away from the circle edge. Despite patient build up play, with James often being forced to collect the ball from the edge of the final quarter, Bath pulled the score back to 17-17. As Bath started to find gaps in what had been a previously vigilant Lightning defence, the momentum changed in Bath’s favour. At half time, the whistle blew with the scoreboard reading 25-22 to Bath.
It was the changes that Murphy and matchday coach Rose Port made at the start of the second quarter that arguably turned the game in Lightning’s favour. In an attempt to bolster up the defence that Bath appeared to be starting to find their way around, youngster Nicola Caunt came on at goal defence, as Bliss moved to goal keeper to replace Morris.
For the third quarter in a row, Lightning started the quicker of the two teams, as Harten and James found space they had previously been unable to. James’ shooting from afar when requested was also impressive.
Lightning’s progress was soon halted though as a Bath injury time out gave the opposition a chance to regroup. However, despite clawing their way back into the game, it continued in the same exhilarating fashion, with both teams fighting and forcing the best out of each other.
As the third quarter drew to a close and fans gasped for breath, the scores were locked at 37-37.
Bath made one defensive change going into the final quarter, with Lightning keeping the faith in those who had so far produced one of their best performances of the season, in what will arguably be deemed the most exciting Superleague game of the season so far.
As the teams took to the court, the tension in the Netball Centre could be felt amongst fans and players alike. Bath converted the first centre pass of the third, however Lightning, as they had done so often in the afternoon, returned with a goal themselves. Lightning started to work harder than they had done all season, forcing the Bath centre court into crucial mistakes; the most noticeable being Guthrie’s centre pass straight to O’Sullivan.
As Lightning had the lead at 45-44, Bath coach Jess Garland shouted to her team, ‘It’s not over yet Bath’, however little did she know, it soon would be.
Lightning grew in strength as the defence tightened up, with crucial interceptions from the commanding Bliss at goal keeper. Bath were rattled as Harten started to expose gaps in the Bath defence that she had previously struggled to find.
However, the game was still not over. With just 2 and a half minutes remaining on the clock, Murphy appeared to be clattered to the floor, however she was adjudged to have committed the foul. As the crowd got up on their feet to voice their disapproval, Murphy looked to the umpire. Fans may have been forgiven for thinking Lightning’s luck had run out.
But not this time, as Murphy got her revenge with just over 1 minute remaining. It was her, fittingly, who made the interception to set up Lightning for the goal to put them 50-49 up. You could almost hear the heartbeats of the Lightning fans as they sat on the edge of their seats. Lightning, however, were far cooler than their nervous fans, as James made a crucial interception, and then converted, to make the score 51-49.
It was too little too late for Bath, as the final whistle blew, ending what had been an incredible game of netball. Lightning had edged it, deservedly 52-50, and as they celebrated on court, their ever loyal fans were on their feet applauding their astounding performance. Bath, at the other end of the court looked exhausted and dejected as they fell to their feet. However, they too had played a part in an astonishing game of netball that won’t be forgotten in a long time.
Coach Murphy, again a stand out performer for Lightning, beamed, “I’m obviously very pleased with the victory today. That team needed some belief and hopefully that result will give us the belief we have been waiting for.
And Murphy was quick to point out exactly why she thought her team had got the result.
“It was all about the patience taking the ball to goal, no matter how many passes it took, and grinding out the goals and then taking the odd turnover. Emma bliss took two vital turnovers in the final quarter, and we were so assured taking the ball to the goal, as we knew that Jo would put it in the net.
“It’s the first time we have actually had a connection all the way through the court and put together a full 60 minutes of netball.
Looking ahead to next week’s game against Leeds Carnegie, Murphy was optimistic that her team’s new found form can help them through.
“We know Leeds will be tough. They are a different prospect, full of energy and work really hard as a team. We have to take the consistency from this performance and the team defensive effort into it. I’m sure when we play like this we can beat anybody.”
For tickets for Lightning’s game next Monday 4th April against Leeds Carnegie, please visit www.loughboroughlightning.com.
