After a 70-57 defeat at the hands of the Australian Diamonds on Thursday, the Vitality Roses responded with an emphatic performance in the second match of the three-match test series.
This 59-61 win marked the first time the Vitality Roses have beaten the Diamonds in Australia since their historic Commonwealth Games win on the Gold Coast in 2018. It sets up an incredibly exciting end to this test series in Bendigo on Wednesday as each team now has one win to their name so far in the series.
The Vitality Roses made some key changes to their line-up ahead of the game, with Funmi Fadoju entering the starting seven in goal defence, and Lois Pearson and Liv Tchine both making their first ever start against Australia in the wing attack and goal shooter positions.
All three young players played a full 60 minutes and had impact across the court, with Lois Pearson notching up the highest number of feeds across both teams on court with 39 and Tchine shooting an incredible 32 goals at 94% accuracy. Fadoju was named player of the match after an outstanding performance which saw her pick up eight gains and two intercepts.
Stepping out onto the home court of her domestic club, the New South Wales Swifts, Helen Housby scored the first goal of the game for the Vitality Roses. Captain Fran Williams and Fadoju combined well in defence, providing plenty of opportunities early in the game, but both teams’ attack ends took some time to settle with a period of end-to-end play that neither team was quite able to take control of. With three minutes left to go in the quarter, the Vitality Roses were able to force a turnover of Australian possession and score, taking a three goal lead. But the Diamonds quickly responded, equalising the score at 13-13 as the buzzer went to signify the end of the quarter.
An unchanged line up took to court for both teams at the start of the second quarter and the Vitality Roses continued to play with freedom and confidence, going goal-for-goal with the Diamonds for periods as well as creating some magical defensive moments that gave them the opportunity to grow a small lead.
Housby and Pearson combined smoothly to open the attacking end, whilst Tchine provided a strong target and remained calm under considerable pressure from the Australian defence. England maintained this composure for the majority of the quarter but allowed the Diamonds to close the gap with just five minutes left to play in the first half. With the scores level at 22-22, a defensive tip from Kiera Austin allowed the Diamonds to take the lead and a turnover from Parmenter, swiftly followed by a long-range shot from Austin ended the quarter 29-27 in favour of the Australian Diamonds.
The second half saw the Australian Diamonds make some changes on court, Matilda Garrett entered at goal defence and Sunday Aryang moved to wing defence. Meanwhile Sophie Garbin replaced Cara Koenen as goal shooter, making an instant impact as the Diamonds grew their lead to four.
Confident and assured shooting from Housby allowed the Vitality Roses to close the gap to one goal after more impressive defensive gains from Fadoju in the Australian shooting circle. Fans then saw goal keeper Sarah Klau head to the bench, replaced by the newest Australian Diamond, Rudi Ellis.
At this point, Amy Carter also entered the game in wing defence, playing her part in building defensive pressure that resulted in a turnover, allowing the Vitality Roses to take the lead again.
With less than fifteen seconds left on the clock in the third quarter, the Diamonds were one ahead as they took the centre pass. With the ball in the safe hands of Austin, Australia scored another long-range shot on the buzzer to maintain their half-time lead and bring the score to 45-43.
End-to-end play opened the final quarter with both teams fired up and determined to take the win in this close contest. A loose ball was lost over the back line for Australia, meaning that England were able to score on the Australian centre pass, levelling the score at 50-50. Rudi Ellis returned to the bench for Sarah Klau and Australia wrangled back a narrow lead as captivating play continued at both ends of the court.
A critical turnover came from Fadoju with less than five minutes left to play and Tchine levelled the score at 56-56. England’s centre pass followed, allowing them to take a one goal lead.
Changes were made for the Diamonds with just over three minutes left to play. Paige Hadley took the centre bib, Kate Moloney moved to wing defence and Aryang returned to goal defence. These changes weren’t enough to disrupt the growing determination and confidence of the Vitality Roses though, as Allison disrupted Australian possession, forcing the ball off the side line, and Housby converted taking England’s lead out to two with their centre pass to follow.
Composed play from the Vitality Roses in possession of the ball brought the score to 57-60 with two minutes to play before a held ball call on England with just 50 seconds left on the clock gave the Diamonds an opportunity. In the dying seconds of the match, an attacking contact on Austin gave possession back to the Vitality Roses, who only had to keep hold of the ball as the clock ticked down and celebrations began on court.
This win marks the Vitality Roses first win against Australia in Australia since the Commonwealth Games gold medal match in 2018. It is a win that is not only significant in the history of these two teams, but also keeps the test series alive as we now head to a deciding match in Bendigo on Wednesday.
Speaking after the game Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby said: “It’s very satisfying… it’s a hugely significant moment for this team in their journey… We have got debutants in here, we’ve got people who have never played Aussie before, so to have found a way to win this early in this team’s evolution is really satisfying and it is significant. It’s important that we acknowledge that and build confidence, but we’re also part of a three game series and we’re not done yet.”
Fans can watch the deciding match of the series at 10am (UK time) on Wednesday 25 September live on Sky Sports Mix and YouTube from 9:30am (UK viewers) or NetballPass (international viewers).
And, if you’ve enjoyed today’s win, don’t miss the chance to see the Vitality Roses playing back on home soil against Jamaica in November. The Vitality Netball Horizon Series comes to Manchester’s AO Arena on 16 and 17 November, you can get tickets here.
Vitality Roses starting seven: Fran Williams (GK), Funmi Fadoju (GD), Beth Cobden (WD), Imogen Allison (C), Lois Pearson (WA), Helen Housby (GA), Liv Tchine (GS)
Substitutes: Amy Carter, Alice Harvey, Berri Neil, Jess Shaw, Razia Quashie
Origin Diamonds starting seven: Sarah Klau (GK), Sunday Aryang (GD), Amy Parmenter (WD), Kate Moloney (C), Liz Watson (WA), Kiera Austin (GA), Cara Koenen (GS)
Substitutes: Sophie Dwyer, Rudi Ellis, Sophie Garbin, Matilda Garrett, Paige Hadley
Image: @phototyke_
