ROUND 14 of the Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL) saw two table topping clashes and potential finals teams go head-to-head, as Team Bath hosted Loughborough Lightning in a down to the wire thriller, while the Saracens Mavericks went down to Wasps Netball. The surprise win of the weekend however saw ladder leaders, Manchester Thunder suffer a shock loss to the Severn Stars, cementing 2019 as one of the best and most competitive seasons ever. In other results, the Celtic Dragons put on a stellar performance against the struggling Strathclyde Sirens while London Pulse almost got over the line against Surrey Storm.

It was a big game on Friday night as third took on fourth, with Team Bath and Loughborough Lightning fighting it out for finals contention. Despite a slow start, a dominant third quarter put Bath in a good position to take a strong win as they took back the lead, but a sloppy final quarter almost saw the Lightning take home the points as the home side struggled to convert. It was a tight final few minutes before the end of the game handed Bath some relief, coming away with a two goal win (57 – 55). The Lightning came in strong to lead by three at half time, but seemed to run out of steam after half time while Bath came in with confidence. A stronger final quarter saw Lightning reduce the margin and opportunities into the circle, but to no avail as they went down to Bath for the second time this season. Lightning have proved to be a surprise package this year, beating the higher ranking teams and going down to sides far lower on the ladder, so will be disappointed they missed this opportunity to get one over Bath and solidify their position in the top four. Bath defender, Summer Artman was a standout defensively, crowding the goal circle well with Eboni Usoro-Brown and putting immense pressure on Lightning goalers, Mary Cholhok and Ella Clark. The likes of Kim Commane, Sophie Drakeford Lewis and Laura Rudland were on song in the goal circle, standing up against the intensity of Lightning’s hands-on defence, while Serena Guthrie pulled out the full force of her talent, producing turnovers to feed back forward. This win will be a big confidence booster for Bath, who have lifted over the past few weeks to prove that they deserve a finals position, while Lightning will need to regroup ahead of next week’s clash against the Sirens to ensure they have the points to make finals ahead of the Mavericks.

Next up saw Celtic Dragons host Strathclyde Sirens, giving the Dragons an opportunity to put their recent improvement on show and come away with a 10 goal win (59 – 49). The Dragons have been steadily upping their game quality and consistency this season, and their efforts seemed to finally come into effect as they stormed away to an early lead, giving the Sirens little opportunity to work back into the match. The Sirens have struggled in 2019 to finish out games, but put in a hard fought effort to keep the margin at ten with a strong second half. The Dragons will be happy to come away with their fifth win for the season, a victory that was required to keep the pressure on middle-table teams, Surrey Storm and Severn Stars. With accuracy issues plaguing Sirens shooters, Lynsey Gallagher and young gun, Emma Barrie at the post, Dragons, Stacian Facey and Dee Bolakoro were able to take advantage and shoot the ball back down court to attack. The likes of midcourters, Nia Jones and Kyra Jones combined well defensively through the midcourt, putting more pressure on Gia Abernethy and Nicola McCleery as they struggled to push the ball downcourt.

In a shock result, ladder leaders Manchester Thunder went down by three goals (47 – 60) to the Severn Stars, with the Stars coming in hot to disrupt finals hopes across the board. This was the third win in the row for the Stars, who continue to impress having put in the hard yards to work their way back up the ladder in recent weeks. The Stars did a stellar job keeping the Thunder’s volume of shots low, reducing them to an eight goal second quarter and proving that every side can be beaten by any team on their day. The Thunder are renowned for sinking a lot of goals in a short period of time, credit to the accuracy and rebounding efforts of Joyce Mvula and Ellie Cardwell, however could not seem to get hands to the ball with Sam Cook and Jodi-Ann Ward on fire in the circle. The dominant pairing of Kerry Almond and Emma Dovey seemed to be at a loss against Stars shooter, Georgia Rowe, who put on a clinic at the post and worked her way around defence effectively, forcing a change in defence as Rebekah Airey took the court in goal keeper. With some composed defensive pressure and flying intercepts from the likes of Cook and Ward, the Stars were able to combat the Thunder’s comeback and solidify their best win for the season so far. The Stars put the Thunder into an uncomfortable position with a lapse in confidence, forcing changes across the court as the normally composed Thunder side struggled to keep afloat. Despite some good patches, the Thunder had a frustrating off-week so will need a big lift ahead of Round 15 to maintain their position at the top of the ladder.

In another close match, the London Pulse came agonisingly close to their third win as they pushed Surrey Storm until the final buzzer, going down by only three goals (56 – 53). A strong first half gave the Pulse a three goal lead, before a 16 to 12 goal third quarter saw the Storm gain the upper hand after a sloppy second term. The lead changed a number of times, with both sides hungry for another win – the Storm chasing a second win for the week after a spectacular show against the Lightning, while the Pulse have shown immense improvement over recent weeks. The likes of Sigi Burger put on another exceptional performance while goalsneak, Rhea Dixon provided a great backup around the circle, slipping between defenders. Pulse captain, Ama Agbeze put on a strong effort, but a shaky defensive setup around the circle created issues for the away side, while the home crowd pushed the Storm to go the extra mile in attack to score. Storm wing attack, Emily Gulvin was a standout, pushing hard at every centre to receive the ball in prime position to move downcourt for circle entry.

The final match of the round saw the Saracens Mavericks host a full strength Wasps Netball, going down by seven points as both sides battled out the second half for the advantage (51 – 58). A 23 goal to 31 first half set up the win for the Wasps, coming out of the blocks fast to ensure an upset would not pip them at the post this week. The Mavericks have some issues to iron out in the coming weeks in order to fight back into the top four, fortunately sitting only one game below the Lightning on the ladder despite a disappointing few weeks on court. A late fight back from the Mavericks was not enough against the force of the Wasps who flexed their muscles. The Wasps were challenged at time and will be happy with the win, with the victory helping to even out the points with ladder leaders, Thunder. George Fisher was fortunately back on form this week, putting on a show at the post with Kadeen Corbin in goal attack. It was not accuracy that was the issue for the Mavericks, but the opportunities going to waste as the Wasps created errors, putting pressure on every ball and causing issues across the court for the Mavericks. For the Wasps, the likes of defenders, Fran Williams and Hannah Knights were excellent, forcing turnovers and creating options through the midcourt credit to the speed and craft of Bongi Msomi in wing attack. The ever reliable shooting duo of Rachel Dunn and Katie Harris were clinical under the ring, sharing the load to create continuous options up forward.