Team Bath Netball’s late surge fall short as Surrey Storm win closely-contested Super League showdown
Team Bath Netball were not quite able to chase down Surrey Storm in the final quarter as, despite a strong first half, the hosts slipped to a narrow 63-56 defeat in Saturday’s Super League showdown.
A solid first half from the Blue & Gold, who were cheered on by a supportive crowd of 1,200, saw them trail by just four goals at the interval but a feisty third quarter allowed Storm to pull ahead and produce a clear gap of 55-41. The home side fought hard in the final quarter, though, closing the final gap to seven.
Asha Francis, Team Bath Netball Super League Head Coach, said: “It was a great start to the game but Storm obviously came out harder in the second half. They were able to force us into a few more errors. I think the bit we are disappointed about is that third quarter and just not having as much energy.
“It was a great way to finish the game, though, going for the ball and turning the game around. We had more confidence driving through in attack, so it was a really positive finish.”
Team Bath came out confidently on home turf and a strong start saw them go goal-for-goal with Storm in the first quarter. Some precise shooting from Sloan Burton and Sophie Kelly, despite intense defensive pressure, led to a high-scoring first quarter of 19-18.
Team Bath applied more defensive pressure throughout the second quarter, with Jayda Pechova providing some crucial interceptions. The first change of the match for Team Bath came as Emma Barrie was introduced at GS, supplying vital points to the scoreboard. This kept the match at 31-35 going into the second half.
However, a feisty start to the second half from Storm saw a string of goals from Proscovia Peace Nwokocha that Bath struggled to chase.
Training Partner Lily Jones made her first home appearance in the third quarter, playing as GA. She executed some great goals that helped Bath in the hunt.
With the pressure on, the Blue and Gold responded in the final quarter. The team fought for every ball and drove hard right till the end. There was a strong defence from Pechova and a flurry of goals from Kelly and Barrie. Although Team Bath came out swinging to finish exceptionally well, the scoreboard was not reflective of this, with a final score of 56-63.
Jayda Pechova was voted by the fans as winner of Team Bath’s Most Valuable Player Award, sponsored by Results Body+Mind, and received a bouquet, supplied by Flowers of Bath, from Richard Ingle, the CEO of one of Team Bath’s overall Partners, Bath Building Society.
Today’s match was the first of four home fixtures for Team Bath during a busy month of May, with the league’s top two – Loughborough Lightning and Manchester Thunder – visiting the Team Bath Arena on Friday 10th and Friday 24th respectively. The Blue & Gold’s home campaign concludes against Strathclyde Sirens on Friday 31st May and tickets for all three matches are available at netball.teambath.com/tickets.
Team Bath Netball is supported by Bath Building Society and Rengen Developments, who are both overall Team Bath Partners. Flyhawk supply Team Bath’s performance clothing and off-court apparel.
Match stats
Team Bath Netball starting combination: GS: Sloan Burton, GA: Sophie Kelly, WA: Kirsty Harris, C: Bethan Dyke, WD: Phoebe Maslen, GD: Tash Pavelin, GK: Jayda Pechova. Impact players: Emma Barrie, Lily-May Catling, Ellie Ervine, Lisa Putt, Lily Jones.
Surrey Storm starting combination: GS: Proscovia Peace Nwokocha, GA: Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, WA: Beth Dix, C: Mikki Austin, WD: Rosie Harris, GD: Rachael Fee, GK: Haniisha Muhameed. Impact players: Ellie Gibbons, Ellie Harding, Amy Howell, Frankie Wells, Anya Wood.
Quarter scores (Team Bath first): Q1 19-18. Q2 31-35 (12-17). Q3 41-55 (10-20). Q4 56-63 (15-8).
Attendance: 1,200.
Team Bath Fans’ MVP, sponsored by Results Body+Mind: Jayda Pechova.
