Thunder blow hot and cold

NETBALL: MANCHESTER Thunder made hard work of their 72-52 victory over Welsh opponents Celtic Dragons in netball’s Superleague.

In their first home game of the season, Thunder allowed their rivals to outscore them 18-12 in the third quarter after dominating early through England shooting duo Helen Housby and Natalie Haythornthwaite.

They led 40-20 after the second quarter and looked to be coasting to victory as Sara Bayman

produced a number of her signature, audacious passes.

But the Thunder that turned out after the half-time break was remarkably different to the one before it. The Dragons took full advantage of their opponents' hesitant and error-strewn play.

But Gabby Marshall, who played at centre and then wing defence, was a bright spark for the Black and Yellows, who were ultimately too strong for their opponents.

Thunder coach Dan Ryan recognised the need for his team to stay focused for the full 60 minutes, but was also keen to pick out the positives from a game that was played in front of a noisy, sell-out

crowd.

He said: "We're pretty happy to start the season with two wins, and a 20-goal margin over the Dragons is a good win. We had three fantastic quarters, but were pretty off the pace in the third.”