Netball: 29 years of hurt see England beat Australia

Sue Hawkins last night helped England netball team beat Australia for the first time in 29 years!

England coach Hawkins, who is an Aussie herself, played in the last Australian team to lose to England nearly thirty years ago

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Win tickets for your netball team to see England play Australia

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The final score read 41-40 but this by no means sums the game up. England squandered opportunities to put more goals on the scoreboard throughout the match.

The first quarter was a mix of good defending from both sides, but England finally broke the net after four minutes, Pamela Cookey the source of the goal.

England maintained good possession and finished the first quarter 9-6.

The second phase saw Australia take back some control and show why they are the number one team to beat.

But with England determined not to let the lead slip away they broke for half time at 18-18.

The third quarter started with some changes, Louisa Brownfield moving to goal shooter leaving way for Tamsin Greenway to take up position at wing-attack.

Geva Mentor and Sonia Mkoloma showed their Superleague pairings are making for good news as they dominated the defensive circle.

England’s drive to win was not altered in the second half but good defensive work from the opposition saw them struggle to grab the goals they needed ending the quarter 30-26.

The final quarter saw England bully the Aussies a little but not enough to run away with the game, leading by six nets at one point.

With two minutes to go, England looked set to take their victory but when Cookey had a pass intercepted Australia pulled back another goal to leave to score 41-39.

Managing to grab a final goal the whistle eventually blew for England fans handing their side a deserved win over the seemingly unbeatable rivals.

Hawkins was happy with her sides performance but believes Sundays match in Nottingham will now be the true test as Australia will come back with a fierce attitude. She said, “They’ll come back fighting, that’s inbred.

“They’ll be hurting, they won’t like it and they’ll come back with a tougher approach.”

“We need to now learn from the game, there were a number of fantastic plays from all.”

But the coach had a warning for those who underestimate her England side. “These girls have got something special and I truly believe in this team and we’ll go out even stronger”.

The next test is in Nottingham on Sunday 21st February, 2010 at 1630.

Erin Healey, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine