"She really was London Pulse’s match-winner. She came up with critical turnovers at key moments and it inspired them"
Tuesday 3 March 2020 14:06, UK
Eboni Usoro-Brown hailed Funmi Fadoju's work after the teenager proved to be an inspirational figure for London Pulse at Surrey Sports Park.
For the second week in a row the 17-year-old defender, who made her competition debut in Birmingham, looked right at home on a Superleague court.
After a blistering start and London Pulse flying 19-6 up after the first 15 minutes, the team had to problem-solve their way through the remaining 45 minutes.
Fadoju entered the match at the start of the third quarter and as was the case at the Season Opener, she made an instant impact for Pulse with her athleticism, vision and attitude on court.
The three-quarter time pause had seen them facing a 39-38 scoreline and Pulse then fell five behind. However, the teenager's involvement proved to be game-changing and was instrumental in securing the 51-50 victory.
Commonwealth Games' gold medal winner Usoro-Brown, who has just announced that she is expecting her first child, joined the Sky Sports team at Surrey Sports Park and was incredibly impressed with Fadoju's work.
"She's 17-years-old and she really was London Pulse's match-winner," Usoro-Brown said post-match.
"She came up with critical turnovers at key moments and it inspired them. You almost saw them lift in confidence and belief [after] and then they started to work for each other.
"When you are that age you haven't been schooled by different coaches, you're just told to go out there, take your opportunity and win ball. That's exactly what Fumni did, she's got such a bright future ahead of her."
"She reminds me of Eboni," Tamsin Greenway added. "I played with her when she was 16 and she was fearless too."
Fadoju, who is still at school and currently weighing up university options, gained more interceptions than any other player on court on Monday and did so without playing the full match.
The England U21 athlete has grown and developed with London Pulse. She was part of the club before they gained entry to the Superleague and like all of their young players, she's thriving off the support of their new head coach Sam Bird.
Bird has firsthand experience when it comes to emerging onto the domestic and international scene at a young age, after being selected to play for England at the age of 15.
In both of Pulse's opening fixtures, the head coach used nine of the ten players available to her and gave those on her bench the chance to make a difference.
Against Surrey Storm, 19-year-old Olivia Tchnie was the other player to be introduced into the game mid-way through, and employing these tactics is something that Usoro-Brown believes will pay dividends.
"It instills trust in your team. At the end of the day, to get through the season you have to have confidence in your seven on court and those on the bench too," the defender said.
"That's what Sam Bird has shown, she has shown that she's not afraid to make changes and that she believes and values them.
"It means that [those on the bench] are able to go on contribute and make a difference to the team."
The next stop for Bird and her exciting youngsters will be taking to a home court for the first time this season. On Monday evening, in front of the Sky Sports cameras, they will entertain Celtic Dragons and bid to maintain their perfect record.
Coverage of the Vitality Netball Superleague season continues with Round Three on Monday, March 9 when London Pulse entertain Celtic Dragons. Join us on Sky Sports Arena, Mix and YouTube from 6.45pm.
