Glasgow Wildcats Move Off Bottom Of Table
15 March 2010
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Glasgow Wildcats sprang was from the bottom of the Co-operative Netball Superleague on Saturday afternoon with a 10-goal win at home. The win over Loughborough Lightning sends the visitors to the bottom spot in the table.
It has been a testing week for Olivia Murphy’s squad who were without their in-form defender Layla Guscoth, who was captaining England’s U19 squad at the Netball Europe competition back at the university.
Also, mid-week saw a thrilling Kukri BUCS Championship final between Leeds and Loughborough, with a large number of the Lightning girls in action for 74 minutes as the match had to be decided in extra-time and then only one goal settled it with Leeds the 68-67 victors.
Still the visitors, led by the experienced yet youthful Jo Harten who had featured in the midweek heartbreak, made a near perfect start.
No shots were missed by their shooters and they led by three at quarter-time. The ‘Cats also started well and could have gone a goal ahead if all their attempts had counted.
The Wildcats came out on the court on a mission in a match they had earmarked as an opportunity to bank valuable points.
Lesley MacDonald, the Glasgow captain was enjoying plenty of ball in the second quarter and converted it with relish, while her defence was ensuring with a tip here and a turnover there that life was less easy under the other post. The sides were all-square after 30 minutes.
The league is proving increasingly unpredictable but one thing has been fairly constant, and that is the fact the Glasgow Wildcats get better as the game goes on and so they proved at the start of the second half.
Upping the work rate against their visitors, the Scots denied Lightning enough possession, and converted enough turnover to dominate the 15 minute period, scoring more than twice as many goals as their opponents.
The mood in the team going into the final phase of the match must have been buoyant and they pressed home their advantage against a tired Loughborough side. Wildcats took the final quarter 13-10 to record a win that moved them temporarily to the heady heights of sixth in the league table.
Glasgow Wildcats coach Denise Holland was more than pleased with the result. "A superb outcome," she said, "after a week being fully focused and determined to hit our target."
For Loughborough Lightning’s head coach Olivia Murphy the game showed how players need to get into a positive mind set when taking to the court.
"Obviously it’s very disappointing" she said. "This was a game we thought we could win and the girls need to find some confidence and team belief before they step out on the court again."
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