Manchester Thunder defeat Hertfordshire Mavericks in Vitality Netball Superleague
Monday 3 April 2017 21:43, UK
Manchester Thunder won their fifth Vitality Superleague match in a row, overcoming the challenge of Hertfordshire Mavericks 59-50 on Monday night.
In a lively start, the home team trailed 16-12 with Malawian star shooter Joyce Mvula failing to make her mark, shooting at just 50 per cent.
And Mvula's night didn't get any better when she picked up an ankle injury during the closing stages of the second quarter.
Her replacement, 19-year-old Amy Clinton, made an immediate impact to help claw the deficit to one point with the visitors leading 27-26.
Young Clinton remained perfect in front of goal with Liana Leota directing play, and by the end of the third quarter Thunder opened up a gap of five goals, 44-39.
They doubled that advantage as a disheartened Mavericks saw players' heads go down, but the movement, flexibility and vision of two-time Vitality Superleague champions Manchester saw them home in style.
Player of the Match Leota told Sky Sports Mix: "Losing early helped us improve. We know when we make mistakes we have to build turnover ball and score our goals, which has been huge for us. I think we have a good bunch of girls who are very enthusiastic."
Head coach Karen Greig added: "They gave us a bit of a fright in that first half, we've not played for 10 days and I think you could tell. But once we stuck to our game plan and letting the ball go by trusting and believing in each other it started to come together."
Thunder will look to continue their winning momentum when they travel to Team Bath in the next round of fixtures while the Mavericks host Severn Stars.
You can follow the next Vitality Superleague clash between Celtic Dragons v Sirens on Sky Sports Mix from 7.30pm on Monday, April 10, and don't forget to catch all the action across our Sky Sports platforms. Follow us @SkyNetball
The regular season league home and away matches run from February to June, culminating in semi-finals and a Grand Final to determine the league champion.
