Thunder’s one goal wonder

NETBALL: A SINGLE goal decided the contest between visiting Northern Thunder and Surrey Storm — and it was the visitors who ended up celebrating a 50-49 triumph.

Thunder weren't keen to partake in a rock 'n' roll entrance that precedes matches at the Surrey Sports Park.

And the musical accompaniment to the home side's goals didn't impress either, though Thunder rocked to their own tune to lead 16-10 after a dominant first quarter in the FIAT Netball Superleague round 13 clash. Another good effort in the second passage of play saw the visitors establish an overall 31-22 advantage.

The home team upped the pressure in the second half and made a contest of the clash with Rachel Dunn a solid presence under the post, returning 90-per-cent of her shots as goals.

Towards the end of the third quarter, Thunder suffered a major blow as Sara Bayman landed awkwardly on her knee (see separate story) and left the match injured.

Surrey Storm continued to come on strong and were in with a shout in the final seconds, with Thunder's lead at 50-49.

But Emma Dovey — on the eve of her 20th birthday — proved to be the Thunder heroine, producing a flying interception which allowed the visitors to run down the clock.

“We had our opportunities, even right at the start when we went down more than we should have and we paid for that in the end," said disappointed Storm coach Mary Beardword.

“There were still lots of good bits but we need to cut down our errors and to be more consistent in the end which we will be working on in our last couple of matches before the play-offs.”

Thunder coach Suzy Chapman was upbeat, while at the same time issuing a mild warning to her charges.

“In the first half we kept to the game plan and played the netball we wanted to play," she said.

“In the third and fourth we also played some good stuff, but as a team errors kept creeping

in and Storm were taking advantage.

“We should stick to our game plan rather than overcomplicate — we need to think clearly under pressure.”