TEAM NORTHUMBRIA 42-31 GLASOW WILDCATS
Sport Central, University of Northumbria
19:30 Thursday, 3rd February, 2011
Team Northumbria Head Coach Tracey Neville
Tracey Neville has banked her first win as head coach of FIAT Netball
Superleague side Team Northumbria with an 11 point win over Glasgow
Wildcats recorded for posterity in front a live TV audience. The
match will not go down in the archives as a classic but it was a well
played and well fought contest.
Nerves played apart in the first quarter of the match being beamed
live to the nation of netball fans with access to Sky Sports. The
ball took a while to get moving around the court and for both teams to
find some rhythm but this game was not one that was going flow smoothly.
The home side made better use of their attempts on goal and although
this was not a high scoring game they did establish an 11-goal
advantage by half-time. Darcie Worsdale started a Superleague game
for the first time in a few years and she was given a chance to begin
a working relationship with GA Olivia Mason, who at 16-years-old has
the chance to be a rising star in the FNSL.
Tracey Neville was delighted with the win although freely admits her
side are a work in progress with a long term plan. The head coach
admitted this fixture was one she hoped to win: “With Glasgow Wildcats
we never doubted we could get the result we wanted. We are working
towards getting all the youngsters involved and today they stood up
and couldn’t be faulted.
“I made a mistake by swapping players around in the centre court, it
didn’t work. I’ve been in charge for five months but have only seen
them play three games on court and I’m getting a better idea of how
they can play and not just in training. It’s exciting and I was really
proud of our kids on court.”
On the night Team Northumbria were the better side but Wildcats fans
may well be asking if their starting seven had lined up differently
would the result have match. Head coach Denise Holland is determined
that Scotland’s number one GS has a role to play at the other end of
the court at GK which is where Lesley “Mac” played for the first half
of the match; by half time the visitors trailed 20-9.
The Wildcats shooters will not be happy with their success under the
ring: June McNeill netted 43% GS, Sam Murphy’s 45 minutes on court saw
her land three goals from her 10 shots, Rachel Holmes on got three
chances and scored two of those. Lesley McDonald played 30 minutes
at GK, and when she switched bibs missed just once in 21 attempts. By
scoring twice as many goals as her team-mates combined she ensured the
result against Team Northumbria appeared reasonable; what if she had
played all four quarters at GS?
At the final whistle head coach of the Glasgow Wildcats Denise Holland
said “It was a frustrating performance with too many errors which we
need to address. But Wildcats however played a strong defensive game.”
Captain Claire Brownie: “It was a disappointing start to the game and
it put us on the back foot despite winning a lot of turnover ball from
a strong defensive team performance.”
