Loughborough Lightning v Leeds Carnegie

15/02/2010

Following a promising performance last week against Surrey Storm, hailed by coach Olivia Murphy as their best performance yet,  Lightning took to the court on Monday 15th February for their Co-Operative Superleague home fixture against Leeds Carnegie. In front of the Sky cameras and a packed Sir David Wallace Sports hall, Lightning were keen to emulate the success of their younger counterparts, Lightning NTL, who had beaten NTL South in their game earlier in the day. However, despite a strong start, Leeds’ experience and physicality prevailed as Lightning lost their way in the second half, losing out 58-50.

Coach Olivia Murphy named an unchanged side from last week’s game against Surrey Storm, and the faith she put in her youngsters initially paid off, as Lightning made a bright start to the game. In attack they looked decisive, with Michealla Mc Farlane and Katy Rose putting some superb balls into the circle, and in defence both Layla Guscoth and Emma Bliss were vigilant, forcing Leeds to make errors and closing them down well.  Jo Harten, again dominated the circle, with both her and Alex Kirk only missing one shot between them throughout the quarter. In what was a close opening quarter, Lightning went in at quarter time deservedly leading 15-14.

Leeds started the second quarter brightly, showing they were not going down without a fight. Lightning’s Layla Guscoth continued her fine form, making some key interceptions at goal keeper, however the Leeds shooters, Carla Dzwoki and Jo Walker, showed good understanding and linked up well within the circle, converting much of their possession. At the other end of the court, Afrika Morris was much tighter on Harten; Surrey had clearly realised that they would need to keep the England shooter out of the game if they were to prevent Lightning extending the lead. However, Harten showed her world class ability with 91% shooting accuracy for the second quarter in a row. Having lost the lead at the start of the quarter, Lightning pulled the score back to 30-30 and were unlucky to go in at the end of the quarter 31-30 down.
Half time saw both coaches make changes, as Murphy brought on Sarah Jane O’Sullivan at centre for Katy Rose. Leeds changed around their defence, clearly in an attempt to stop the accuracy of the Lightning shooters, with Lauren Potter replacing Afrika Morris at goal keeper and Lisa Fernyhough coming on at wing defence. Again Leeds started brightly, increasing their lead early on in the quarter. Lightning themselves had good periods of play, with O’Sullivan linking up well with Mc Farlane in the centre court, and Harten shooting well despite the physical nature of the Leeds defence forcing her to shoot from further out. Leeds’ dominance of possession during this quarter limited Lightning’s opportunities, thus causing them to have increased their lead at quarter time to 38-45.

After a disappointing third quarter in which Leeds had broken further away, Murphy realised she needed to change the Lightning attack to find more goals to bridge the gap between the teams. Reliable shooter Harten moved out to goal attack, with Becky James coming on at goal shooter, and Masego Moutang replacing the energetic Mc Farlane at wing attack. Both teams started the quarter well, with each converting their own centre passes, producing end to end exciting netball.  However, midway through the quarter, Lightning appeared to step up a gear as they found their rhythm and stunned Leeds with five unanswered goals. The gap was down to three at 46-49; the Leeds players looked to have lost the rhythm they found in the third quarter and the home crowd could sense it. Lightning looked to have set up a tense final few minutes to the game. However the combination of a timely Leeds injury and a key interception by Leeds’ Potter halted Loughborough’s momentum and  Leeds found their feet once again. Leeds’ Goal Attack Carla Dziwoki showed composure at the crucial moment with three quick goals, re-establishing a gap too big for the home side to bridge. Lightning didn’t go out without a fight, but Leeds’ experience shone through as they regained composure and another Dziwoki treble late on ensured Leeds took the points, with the final score being 50-58 to Leeds Carnegie.

It had been a game typifying Lightning’s season- they demonstrated a hard working ethos that could not be faulted and at times produced moments of brilliant team play, however as the game went on they lacked the experience and physicality Leeds showed.
Coach Murphy recognised the change in Lightning’s performance from the first to the second half, saying “I was really pleased with the first half’s performance, however in the second half we struggled to cope with the physical presence of the Leeds defence.” Murphy was also keen to praise captain Jo Harten, who is off to represent England against Australia, “Jo produced yet another brilliant performance today, typifying the form she has shown this season and will be missed when she is away with England. We wish her the best of luck.”

Lightning now have a slight break before their next home game, scheduled for the 20th March against Northern Thunder. For tickets or more information please visit www.loughboroughlightning.co.uk.