The Jamaica Sunshine Girls avenged their mid-week defeat in Manchester to level the series with a three-goal win at the Copper Box Arena in London.
The Vitality Roses started quickly, taking a six-goal lead, but the Commonwealth Games silver medallists fought back and took control in the second quarter, seeing out the win with resilience and quick goals in the second half.
Quarter one:
With Jo Harten unavailable due to injury, Jess Thirlby made four changes to the side that won the opening test. Olivia Tchine and Chelsea Pitman joined the attack whilst Alice Harvey came in at goal keeper with Funmi Fadoju moving to goal defence, Layla Guscoth moving to wing defence and Imogen Allison coming in at centre.
After making a slow start on Wednesday, the Vitality Roses were determined to start on the front foot this time around. Within minutes, the hosts took the advantage with Fadoju working well with Harvey to intercept a feed into Fowler, who struggled to stay under the post throughout the first quarter. At the other end, Helen Housby, who impressed in the week with her sharp shooting, continued her good form working well with Imogen Allison to break up play high up the court. A few minutes before the break, with the Sunshine Girls struggling to find their rhythm, the Vitality Roses capitalised as Housby and Tchine helped build a six-goal lead into the break.
Quarter two:
Needing a win to keep the series alive, the Sunshine Girls weren’t going to go quietly and Connie Francis’ side came out into the second quarter looking determined to make up for their slow start. Defensive duo Kadie-Ann Dehaney and Jodi-Ann Ward and substitute Malysha Kelly began to work more closely as a unit and made it difficult for the Vitality Roses to provide service to Tchine. Moving forward and with Nicole Dixon-Rochester reintroduced after being briefly withdrawn during Q1, Jamaica began to work the ball quicker and find Fowler under the post who helped bring the visitors level.
As the Vitality Roses tried to keep with their quick-scoring opponents, England’s attacking end began to lose ball in and around the circle as Ward and Dehaney continued to frustrate the hosts. Jamaica finished strong, taking the quarter 19-9 to establish a four-goal lead going into half time.
Quarter three:
Into the third quarter and Thirlby made a number of changes to try and stem the flow of Jamaica’s momentum. Laura Malcolm and Sophie Drakeford-Lewis both came on for their first minutes in the series along with captain Nat Metcalf and Jade Clarke as the new-look England tried to fight back.
Wounded after a 21-goal defeat in the first game, the Sunshine Girls continued to show their grit, giving the hosts no time to string a streak of goals together. As Jamaica’s defence stood firm, wing attack Khadijah Williams was pulling the strings with her feeds as captain Fowler showed why she is one of the most feared shooters in world netball, using her height and reach to continue pilling on the pressure on the score board – shooting at 100%. Similar to the second quarter, England tried to move the ball quickly but errors in their build-up and physical pressure from the visitors’ midcourt saw Jamaica turn over ball and further their lead.
Fran Williams came on midway through the quarter after Guscoth went down and produced an early turnover to get the crowd on their feet as the Vitality Roses fans tried to raise the noise to spur on the team. The team came back, finishing the quarter strong to make it 41-48 going into the final 15 minutes.
Quarter four:
As the Vitality Roses came back on court, the crowd increased their volume again as Tchine helped bring her team back to within four, raising her arms to encourage the fans to keep up their support. The hard-fought battle on court continued with Crystal Plummer receiving a caution for foul play.
Finding more success around the circle edge, Drakeford-Lewis and Metcalf began to find pockets of spaces and target Tchine under the post who was showing great resilience whilst playing a full 60 minutes against the Jamaica defence. With just a couple of minutes to go, the Vitality Roses were back within three and the crowd were back in full voice. But as the hosts tried to close the gap and take the game into extra time, the Sunshine Girls withstood the pressure and stayed organised, holding on to their three-goal advantage in the end to take the series into a decider.
The Vitality Roses and the Jamaica Sunshine Girls return to the Copper Box Arena for the final game of the Vitality Netball International Series on Sunday 15 January.
Fans can watch from home on the BBC iPlayer with coverage starting at 1.45pm.
Vitality Roses starting seven: Alice Harvey (GK), Funmi Fadoju (GD), Layla Guscoth (WD), Imogen Allison (C), Chelsea Pitman (WA), Helen Housby (GA), Olivia Tchine (GS)
Substitutes: Jade Clarke, Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, Laura Malcolm, Natalie Metcalf, Francesca Williams
Jamaica starting seven: Kadie-Ann Dehaney (GK), Jodi-Ann Ward (GD), Crystal Plummer (WD), Nicole Dixon-Rochester (C), Khadijah Williams (WA), Shanice Beckford (GA), Jhaniele Fowler (GS)
Substitutes: Malysha Kelly, Roxonna McLean, Shimona Nelson, Rebekah Robinson, Abigale Sutherland
