1 month ago
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MANCHESTER SPURS booked their place in the Red Stripe Flavours Netball Jamaica Elite League final after a 36-35 win over St Ann Orchids in their semi-final play-off game at the Leila Robinson courts on Sunday.
The Spurs now await the winner of a game between the Orchids and the Kingston Hummingbirds, who defeated St Catherine Racers 58-44 in an eliminator semi-final.
Manchester Spurs assistant coach Shanell Samuda said after playing the Orchids in their final preliminary game on Friday, they anticipated another difficult encounter but trusted the championship mettle of their girls.
“After playing the Orchids on Friday, we knew what we needed to do. We took it quarter by quarter. It was a tight game but our girls held it together. Kudos to the Orchids, but it was Manchester Spurs’ night.”
Manchester led by three goals (9-6) after the first period and were ahead by five (19-14) at half-time
However, the Orchids rallied in the third quarter to tie the score, and a ding-dong batted ensued, which ended with the scores tied at 27-27 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Spurs continued to edge in front, but the Orchinds were never more than a goal or two behind, even tied at times. The Spurs took a two-goal advantage with just a few seconds remaining and saw out the game to book their place in a second straight final.
“We knew it wouldn’t be easy, because we won on Friday and we knew the Orchids would come hungry. They would have wanted to be the one waiting for the other finalist to come in. But our girls held it together to get the victory tonight.
“At times the game was really close. But we knew the ladies that we have and what they are capable of. We trusted them and they trusted us as the coaches, and they delivered.
“We are back into another final, and as defending champions we know it is going to be tough. But we are going back to training and be prepared, whether it’s the Hummingbirds or the Orchids, come the 27th,” Samuda said.
St Ann Orchids coach Kurt Dale said although they were solid defensively, they were let down by their offence and some questionable umpire calls.
“We weren’t disciplined early in the game and it led us to that stage, and in the end we got some tough calls from the umpire. I don’t know what we were seeing differently from him.
“We played them on Friday and lost by two; and tonight (Sunday) we lost by one. I think we really held our own in defence. But in attack, we let ourselves down, scoring only 35 goals. So we will go back and assess what we can do in attack differently and ensure we are scoring more goals.
“It is pretty safe to say that we might get them next time. We just need to be more disciplined in attack and maintain our structure for longer periods,” he said.
In the opening game between third-placed regular season finishers Kingston Hummingbirds and fourth-placed St Catherine Racers, the former led for most of the match and booked a date against the Orchids in the semi-final eliminator on June 25.
Although the teams were tied 13-13 after the first quarter, that was as close as the Racers got, as the Hummingbirds jumped to a 30-23 half-time lead, before pulling away to 45-32 at the end of the third.
Hummingbirds coach Jodian French Kentish said it was an excellent display from her girls.
“They stuck to the task. They listened to the instructions and they executed. It was a well-played game.
“At the end of the first quarter we were tied. But we kept building the momentum and increased the lead as the game progressed.
“At half-time, we told them to keep their composure and try to increase that lead, and we only improved from there.”
However, Racers shooter Simone Gordon had a horrendous night, shooting only 33 of 57 attempts, and coach Kadian Moore said it was an unfortunate off night for their usually reliable shooter.
“When the game gets tough, scoring is what is important. From the first whistle to the last. No matter how many balls the defenders win, we are not going to win if the shooters do not score.
“Unfortunately, some players start the season well, but at the end they are disappointed. It was an off day for her (Gordon), this one. Because from the start of the season she has been playing tremendously. Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t her night,” she commented.
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