The atmosphere was electric as a sell out crowd descended on Castle Leisure Centre in Bury to cheer on their teams, joined by viewers watching live on Sky Sports.
It was a close run battle throughout, with Northern Thunder leading by one point (43 – 42) just over 10 minutes into the last quarter before the second time out was called. Team Northumbria battled back in a fast paced, final push for victory, clinching the match 51 – 49.
It was a promising start for Northern Thunder’s Kerry Almond. Making her Superleague debut, the goalkeeper was chosen as Player of the Match by former England player Tracey Neville, and received a bouquet of flowers from The Co-operative’s sponsorship support manager, Michelle Reeves.
Adding to the excitement of the first match of the season was the presence of Oldham-born actress and netball fanatic, Tiffany Chapman, aka Brookside’s Rachel Jordache and most recently known for her role as nurse Cindy Burton in Emmerdale.
Chapman, who has played netball for Greater Manchester County and Oldham Netball Club, was on hand to cheer on her local team, Northern Thunder.
“My whole family are netball fanatics, my mum is in charge of community netball development in Oldham, “ she said.
“I always keep an eye on Northern Thunder to see how they are doing; it’s been a great game.”
Talking after the match, Mike Greenwood, director of netball at Northern Thunder, commented on the team’s performance.
He said: “It was a massive improvement on last season. Despite the loss, the score was a lot closer and the girls didn’t give in, they kept going right to the end.
“They showed a great team spirit tonight and they did really well.”
Team Northumbria’s assistant coach, Anita Navin, said: “We needed to play a short game and when we did play a short ball and simple netball we were stronger.
“It was good to get the first game out of the way and we’ll enjoy the win and look forward to playing Leeds Carnegie on Sunday in Gateshead.”
The Co-operative’s Michelle Reeves said: “It was a fantastic start to the season and an extremely exciting match. The crowd were buzzing and really got into the spirit of the occasion.
“In order for as many people as possible to enjoy The Co-operative Netball Superleague, we are giving away two pairs of tickets for each home game throughout the season. So netball fans out there should keep an eye out for the competitions in their local press to be in with a chance of winning.”
The atmosphere was electric as a sell out crowd descended on Castle Leisure Centre in Bury to cheer on their teams, joined by viewers watching live on Sky Sports.
It was a close run battle throughout, with Northern Thunder leading by one point (43 – 42) just over 10 minutes into the last quarter before the second time out was called. Team Northumbria battled back in a fast paced, final push for victory, clinching the match 51 – 49.
It was a promising start for Northern Thunder’s Kerry Almond. Making her Superleague debut, the goalkeeper was chosen as Player of the Match by former England player Tracey Neville, and received a bouquet of flowers from The Co-operative’s sponsorship support manager, Michelle Reeves.
Adding to the excitement of the first match of the season was the presence of Oldham-born actress and netball fanatic, Tiffany Chapman, aka Brookside’s Rachel Jordache and most recently known for her role as nurse Cindy Burton in Emmerdale.
Chapman, who has played netball for Greater Manchester County and Oldham Netball Club, was on hand to cheer on her local team, Northern Thunder.
“My whole family are netball fanatics, my mum is in charge of community netball development in Oldham, “ she said.
“I always keep an eye on Northern Thunder to see how they are doing; it’s been a great game.”
Talking after the match, Mike Greenwood, director of netball at Northern Thunder, commented on the team’s performance.
He said: “It was a massive improvement on last season. Despite the loss, the score was a lot closer and the girls didn’t give in, they kept going right to the end.
“They showed a great team spirit tonight and they did really well.”
Team Northumbria’s assistant coach, Anita Navin, said: “We needed to play a short game and when we did play a short ball and simple netball we were stronger.
“It was good to get the first game out of the way and we’ll enjoy the win and look forward to playing Leeds Carnegie on Sunday in Gateshead.”
The Co-operative’s Michelle Reeves said: “It was a fantastic start to the season and an extremely exciting match. The crowd were buzzing and really got into the spirit of the occasion.
“In order for as many people as possible to enjoy The Co-operative Netball Superleague, we are giving away two pairs of tickets for each home game throughout the season. So netball fans out there should keep an eye out for the competitions in their local press to be in with a chance of winning.”
