Storm top the Superleague Table

NORTHERN THUNDER 37 – 50 SURREY STORM

1500PM: 13^th December, 09

Venue: Castle Leisure Centre, Bury

Spectators 250:

Umpires: Tracy Smith, Alison Smith, Andrea Cowherd.

Surrey Storm are top of The Co-operative Netball Superleague two games into their debut season. After an impressive outing in Newcastle on Saturday, they completed their tour of northern England with a 13 goal win over Northern Thunder.

The southerners did the damage in the first 15 minutes of the match. Thunder had come out all guns blazing in front of their home crowd of around 250 They started the match well, but Storm began to neutralise their attack with the M-n-M defence (Mkoloma and Mentor) and stole a march with interceptions, tips and turnovers taking them seven goals clear by the quarter whistle.

The new-look Northern Thunder seem to be starting to settle after a tough opening game at TeamBath on the first day of the season. A televised live game on Sky perhaps not the best stage on which to get to know new team-mates although it was a good performance against the champions. The second quarter saw Clarke and Bayman swap bibs for the home side and at centre the former TeamBath and current England star dominated the court. This match was a good competitive encounter, energetic, fiesty and lively. With the flow of ball to Storm’s shooters significantly staunched by Bayman’s defensive-attack Thunder were better able to hold their own and it was just centre’s difference in the quarter score by half-time, with Storm still holding that first quarter advantage.

Storm ran out much of their squad on Saturday against Team Northumbria but made no changes on Sunday and did not need to as having taken control of the game early on the team was able to maintain their advantage. It looks as though the England pairing of Mkoloma and Mentor are already developing an instinctive understanding of what the other is covering; that is going to make it tougher for the rest of the Superleague to counter. At the other end Rachel Dunn and Tamsin Greenway are bonding with balls hitting the ring and dropping from all parts of the circle. Northern Thunder’s player of the match Sara Bayman was a bit frustrated after the game. “We pushed harder for longer in this game” she said, “and we were much better than against Bath.”

“The first quarter was disappointing but in the last three quarters we pushed hard all the way. If a few more calls had gone our way the score-line may not have been 13, this didn’t represent how well we played.”

Interception, tips and turnover played a huge part in the game with Bayman collecting more than would be expected. But unforced errors cost them dear and perhaps stretched the gap further than the performance would suggest.

It may be argued that Surrey Storm executed their game plan with more clinical finishing but there was no doubt they dominated, will they take control of the league?

Head coach Mary Beardwood is not planning on complacency. “It was a tough physical game we’re very pleased to get another victory” she said. “The players kept their level of intensity up throughout the hour, and we will be working hard on different combinations between now and the next game.”

STARTING LINE-UPS:

NORTHERN THUNDER

GS:Karen Greig, captain

GA:Kathryn Turner

WA: Krystal Gayle

C: Jade Clarke

WD:Sara Bayman

GD:Emma Dovey

GK:Kerry Almond

BENCH:

Kate Smith

Helen Browne