Thunder tame the Dragons

Celtic Dragons are languishing at the bottom of the Co-operative Netball Superleague table after a 66-36 loss to Northern Thunder.

Northern dominate Welsh side

Celtic Dragons are languishing at the bottom of the Co-operative Netball Superleague table after suffering a 66-36 loss to Northern Thunder. The Bury clash saw the home side take control from early on and they were ahead by seven goals at the end of the first quarter. The Dragons did show potential, particularly through young shooter Emma Thomas, who recorded a 100 per cent hit rate but should have been fed the ball more. Thunder were still leading by seven at half-time after drawing the second session 14-14 but their centre court dominated in the third quarter.

Errors

The Welsh side were hampered by unforced errors and could not match the supreme partnership of England stars Sara Bayman and Jade Clarke when they moved to WD and C respectively. Dragons, who had little possession and squandered penalty passes in the penultimate quarter, allowed Thunder to consolidate their position in the final 15 minutes to secure their first win of the season. Thunder captain Karen Greig hailed the way her players had fought back in the second half of the match. "Celtic Dragons came out determined especially in the first half," said Greig. "There was very tight man-to-man marking and it disrupted our flow. "We dug deep in a bid to put a big margin between us and the Dragons and with consistency and a drop in error rate I am proud we won by 30." Thunder: GS: Karen Greig (capt), GA: Kathryn Turner, WA: Krystal Gayle, C: Sara Bayman, WD: Jade Clark, GD: Emma Dovey, GK: Kerry Almond. Bench: Charlotte Beenham, Kate Smith, Helen Browne, Rachel Henry, Krista Estanio.
Shooting stats: Greig 47/56 84%, Turner 13/15 87%, Beenham 7/13 54% Dragons: GS: Emma Thomas, GA: Cara Lea Moseley, WA: Kyra Neal, C: Nichola James, WD: Sian Carrington, GD: Steff Williams (capt), GK: Kelly Morgan. Bench: Amy Philips, Carlie Ennis, Becky Neate, Sammy-Jo Williams.
Shooting stats: Thomas 15/15 100%, Moseley 18/29 62%, Neate 4/9 44%