It was the first big clash of the 2011 Fiat Netball Superleague with Northern Thunder taking the initiative in the title race by scoring an impressive victory over Surrey Storm in front of a home crowd in Bury. A physical start to the match led to a tight first couple of quarters, nothing much in the score line with both sides taking a lead only to be hauled back.
Storm will probably admit they got better in the second quarter, their defensive zoning created problems for their hosts with Karen Greig struggling to find her trademark accuracy. At the other end it wasn’t the best performance we’ve seen from Rachel Dunn either. Surrey took an 19-17 lead but let it slip.
Thunder’s captain Karen Greig woke up in the second half leading the way for her team with a perfect 15 from 15 attempts in the third quarter. We expect nothing but the best from Sara Bayman and Jade Clarke and it looks like they have a new friend to join them in their “centre (third) of excellence”. What a difference Jess Langman made coming on at WA and bringing pace, precision and a bounce pass (that even scares her team-mates), onto the court helping turn the game to the home side’s advantage in the last 30 minutes of the match.
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But it was defender Emma Dovey who was named player of the match after a series of key rebounds and interceptions. Thunder finding their groove later in the match an improvement on their finish against Hertfordshire Mavericks less than 5 days before.
Surrey Storm’s Head coach Mary Beardwood: “We some silly mistakes at the end of the second quarter where we went from 2 goals up to 3 goals down. Langman coming on for Thunder was extremely effective, but it was great to give our younger players a run out, Fran Desmond making her Fiat Netball Superleague debut and giving us lots to work on ahead our Mavericks game on the 7th.”
Northern Thunder captain Karen Grieg: “A good win, although a slower start than we wanted we picked up the pace. The second half we started to ask questions of Surrey, they had no answers. Our through court ball and our patience were excellent. We’re looking forward to what challenges the other teams have for us - bring it on!”
Northern Thunder 60 - Surrey Storm 38
Lisa O’Sullivan, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
