Netball Superleague round-up: Dragons, Thunder, Bath & Storm all win
- Published
Celtic Dragons captain Nia Jones said her side's win over Strathclyde Sirens was a "real battle"
Celtic Dragons edged a thriller 50-46 against Strathclyde Sirens in round five of the Superleague.
Manchester Thunder continued their 100% start with a 62-49 victory over Severn Stars to top the league table.
Team Bath bounced back from a loss in their last game to beat Loughborough Lightning 75-50 and Surrey Storm clinched an away win over London Pulse, 69-49.
Wasps host Saracens Mavericks on Monday (19:00 GMT).
Game of the week - Strathclyde Sirens 46-50 Celtic Dragons
Dragons secured their second win of the season by edging ahead in a nervy final quarter.
The Welsh outfit have now won as many matches by round five of the 2019 season, as they did in the whole of their 2018 campaign (won two, lost 16).
Sirens led by a single goal at half time but Dragons refused to let them pull ahead, producing a solid defensive display in what was a scrappy and tenacious tie.
Dragons captain Nia Jones described the game as a "real battle until the last minute".
"We knew it wasn't going to be a particularly pretty game of netball but I was really pleased with how focused we all remained throughout," added the Wales international.
"Despite Sirens leading for large parts of the game, we knew we had to grind it out and keep chipping away and we did that."
The win lifts Dragons up to fifth in the table and leaves Sirens without a win in four.
Thunder, Bath and Storm all win
Stars' Iona Darroch (left) marks Manchester Thunder's Amy Carter during their round five Superleague fixture
Manchester Thunder top the Superleague table for the first time this season following a patient win over Severn Stars in Worcester.
Resolute defending from Stars meant Thunder were made to wait until the third quarter to build a significant lead, with Amy Carter, who played at both wing defence and centre, pivotal in making sure the hosts did not find enough momentum in the second half to mount a comeback.
Team Bath picked up their third win of the season with a comfortable victory over Lightning, after a shock home defeat by Surrey Storm last time out.
They seemed to benefit from an extended break after their previous game was postponed because of snow, with captain Serena Guthrie leading the charge in the centre court.
And Storm continued their good run of form by soundly beating London Pulse, a result which saw them jump from the bottom of the league up to sixth.
Wasps can reclaim top spot in the table with a win over Saracens Mavericks in the final fixture of round five on Monday (19:00 GMT).
Results & fixtures
Friday, 8 February
Strathclyde Sirens 46-50 Celtic Dragons
Saturday, 9 February
Severn Stars 49-62 Manchester Thunder
Loughborough Lightning 50-75 Team Bath
London Pulse 49-69 Surrey Storm
Monday, 11 February
Wasps v Saracens Mavericks (19:00 GMT)
Wednesday, 6 March
Wasps v Manchester Thunder (19:00), rescheduled from round two
Superleague table 2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Played | Won | Lost | Points |
Manchester Thunder | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
Wasps | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
Saracens Mavericks | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
Team Bath | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
Celtic Dragons | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
Surrey Storm | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
Loughborough Lightning | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
Severn Stars | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
Strathclyde Sirens | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
London Pulse | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 |