Loughborough Lightning v Mavericks

This was always destined to be a tense, hard fought match and the crowd weren’t disappointed. Maverick’s defense of Amanda Newton (England captain) and Janet Colbourne is one of the best in the league and Lightning knew they would have to play well to break them down. With Karen Atkinson, ex-Lightning player, bolstering their mid-court and Louisa Brownfield spearheading their attack Mavericks will be challenging for the league title this season. In meeting their challenge Lightning were able to field arguably their strongest squad for the first time all season. Saturday saw Liv Murphy play her first full NSL game of the year and also saw the welcome return of Ama Agbeze after 9 months out with a knee injury. Both of these players are critical to Lightning’s own title aspirations and Rose Port must have been delighted to see them out on court together.

The game started at tremendous pace with both defenses looking strong and forcing numerous turnovers. As the game settled it was Mavericks who began to shade the contest. The Lightning shooting combination couldn’t quite settle against the pressure of Colbourne and Newton and missed some key chances. By quarter time Mavericks had crept in to 10-7 lead.

Rose Port rang the changes in the break replacing James at GS with Astle and bringing on Agbeze at GD. The double substitution galvanised Lightning who began to play with more structure and purpose. Astle found her shooting range almost immediately and was creating a better target in the circle for Murphy and O’Neill to feed. At the other end of the court Agbeze’s presence lifted the Lightning defense. Her very first competitive touch of ball in nine months was a flying interception. With Clarke working tirelessly at WD, backed up by Agbeze and Reid in the circle, the Mavericks attack were under huge pressure. The whole Lightning team played more fluently and Mavericks found their lead being wiped out as LL scored 14 goals to win the quarter by 4 and lead 21-20 at half time.

The second half started with more changes to the Lightning line up. James returned to the court at GA and Tomlin replaced Agbeze at GD. Mavericks brought on Siddall at WD to give them an all international defensive trio and, unfortunately for Lightning, their team shifted up a gear. Lightning’s fluency began to wobble and crucial shots went astray. Colbourne and Newton were outstanding in defense and young Mavericks shooter, Jo Harten, had a storming game in their attack. Still only 17 she is certainly one to watch for the future. Lightning were still forcing turnovers against a very strong attacking line up but couldn’t convert enough to keep pace with Mavericks. Mavericks had gained a momentum that ultimately carried them through to win the game. The quarter ended with Mavericks having taken a ?? goal lead.

The final quarter saw Agbeze return to the court and Lightning lifted the intensity of their play to try and close the gap. Unlike the second quarter her entry in to the game didn’t have the same dynamic effect and Lightning were still stuttering in and around the attacking circle. The gap between the teams extended to 10 goals at one point but Lightning kept fighting. Part way through the quarter Becky James had to leave the court with an ankle injury and Lightning threw Lauren Doyle in to GA for her first match in Lightning colours. This was certainly a baptism of fire against a tough defense but she coped exceptionally well. As the quarter wore on Lightning’s determination saw them begin to eat in to the Mavericks lead. However the gap wasn’t closing fast enough to threaten their lead coming in to the final two minutes of the game. Mavericks ended up deserved winners 44-40.

Despite losing Lightning can take a lot of positives from the game. Mavericks are a top side and we pushed them all the way to the wire. Lightning are still in the early stages of learning to play as a team with Murphy only just playing her first full game and Agbeze taking the court for the first time in 9 months. Becky James, who has been outstanding this season, just had a bad day at the office and will play far better next time the teams meet. In addition Lauren Doyle stepped out for her first Lightning experience and wasn’t phased by a tough match. All the way down the court we competed and the gap between the two teams is certainly narrow enough to be closed completely by the next time the teams meet.