Manchester win blood-and-Thunder battle

NETBALL:  

THUNDER remain unbeaten in Superleague following a thrilling victory over Surrey Storm in Guildford and a grinding defeat of Hertfordshire Mavericks.

It was the black and yellows' first victory at Surrey. The first period was cagey and littered with errors, and patient attacking from Storm enabled them to score four goals without reply.

But with Emma Dovey and Kerry Almond working tirelessly, Thunder got a foothold and ended the quarter 14-12 ahead.

Some questionable umpire calls knocked the wind out of Thunder’s sails and captain Sara Bayman, usually so composed, engaged in a furious exchange with Surrey player-coach Tamsin Greenway as the visitors lost the initiative.

With the score at 39-39 going into the final quarter it was all to play for, but Thunder began to frustrate Storm with patient build-up play and built up a 49-46 lead.

Storm heads started to drop and Thunder sensed victory with daylight between the sides for the first time in the match. They powered to a deserved 58-47 success.

Thunder followed up this bruising victory with a hard-fought defeat of Hertfordshire Mavericks.

Thunder edged into a 15-11 lead, but Mavericks – with a vocal crowd behind them – came roaring back before the visitors clicked through the gears to stretch into an 11-goal lead with only five minutes left.

Thunder finished off Mavericks with some clinical passing, but they will need to address their inability to stay focused for 60 minutes if they are to successfully defend their title.