England defeat Jamaica 54-50 at the Netball World Cup
Saturday 8 August 2015 14:26, UK
England staged a third-quarter comeback to defeat Jamaica in trying circumstances at the Netball World Cup on Saturday.
Tracey Neville, the England coach, lost her father just a day prior to the match but opted to remain in Australia with her team and oversaw a gutsy 54-50 victory.
A minute's silence for Neville's loss was an emotional beginning to the match and may have gone some way to explaining Jamaica's quicker start.
The Sunshine Girls led by six goals in the penultimate quarter but, inspired largely by the introduction of 20-year-old Helen Housby, England roared back to eventually win by a four-goal margin.
Jamaica led 14-11 at the end of the first period, having taken advantage of a rare Jo Harten miss. She made up for that in the next period after a great explosion into a dangerous area by Jade Clarke.
Jamaica rallied to keep England at bay, and although the lead was briefly reduced to three goals, the Sunshine Girls went into half-time with a 28-23 lead.
Sonia Mkoloma and Housby freshened up England's line-up in the third quarter and Neville's decision immediately paid dividends. Mkoloma stole possession and Housby levelled the score with the clock ticking prior to the final period. With Jamaica on the ropes, Harten struck to make it 39-37 to England.
Tamsin Greenway's experience shone through in a cagey last few minutes but Neville's side held on to confirm the points.
