Thunder coach hails Gibson performance

NETBALL: MANCHESTER Thunder notched a solid 61-51 win over Loughborough Lightning at the Thunderdome in round 12 of the Vitality Netball Superleague.

The Black and Yellows’ 10-goal victory keeps alive their hopes of finishing on top of the Superleague table.

A scrappy game in parts, Thunder generally dominated, especially in defence, with Jodie Gibson colossal at keeper and later goal defence.

Coach Dan Ryan was content with his team’s overall performance: “It was a tough match. We knew Loughborough would come out hard,” he said. “We looked at what they did against us in that first game and did a lot of work in training to counteract that. Defensively our game across the board was really strong and that’s what set us up for a 10-goal win.”

On Gibson’s player of the match performance, the Australian added: “She stuck to task. I thought she was great. She’s a hard-working player who really does wear down her opponent.”