England Roses beaten 62-55 by New Zealand Silver Ferns
Thursday 7 September 2017 11:47, UK
England were beaten 62-55 by New Zealand on Thursday in the first meeting of a three-match international series.
The score was locked at 49-49 midway through the final quarter but the Silver Ferns, inspired by Maria Tutaia's shooting, pulled clear in front of their home crowd in the closing minutes.
England were level at 15-15 after the first 15 minutes and unfortunate to trail by one goal at the half-time stage.
The host nation were 42-40 ahead at the end of the third quarter and, despite England Roses' best efforts, regained a slender advantage to the conclusion.
The second match is Sunday, live on Sky Sports Mix at 3am. New Zealand will win the Taini Jamison Trophy if they take an unassailable two-match lead in the series.
New Zealand are aiming to add this trophy to last week's Quad Series win - although, in that tournament, England beat them 49-45.
Tickets for the British Fast5 All-Stars Championship are available now from www.theo2.co.uk and start from just £20 with group tickets available priced from £60 for four adults. VIP Courtside tickets are available for £150 from www.fast5allstars.com.
Catch the action from the Fast5 All-Stars Championship, live Sky Sports, from 4.30pm on Saturday, September 23.
And follow the 2018 Vitality Superleague season with us on Sky Sports and through our website skysports.com/Netball also our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @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.
