Netball Quad Series: England lose 58-46 to Australia in final

2 years ago 25

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England suffered a 58-46 loss to Australia and miss out on their first ever Quad Series trophy.

The Roses, who held a one-goal lead before the last quarter, surrendered their lead and conceded 18 goals in the last quarter.

Australia, who came into this tournament as an unknown outfit, have won six out of seven of the past Quad Series.

The two sides had played out a tight draw in Tuesday's match.

A fast start saw the Diamonds get to an early three-goal lead while England tried to settle and, although they had no trouble in winning the ball back, they struggled to convert defence to attack and shift the ball through the mid-court to the shooters.

Similar to Tuesday's match, where England were not at their best but managed to earn a draw in the last seconds of the game, the Roses took the opening quarter to bed into the game.

But Eleanor Cardwell, who demonstrated her shooting prowess against the Diamonds on Tuesday, stood strong in the circle forcing the Aussie's head coach Stacey Marinkovich to bring on Sarah Klau at goal keeper and move Courtney Bruce to goal defence.

Jess Thirlby, who looked calm on the sideline, stuck with a more settled starting seven and didn't make a change until the third quarter, which perhaps indicates where her intentions lie ahead of the Commonwealth Games selection.

The Roses held a two-goal cushion heading into the half-time break and, after a tight third quarter, a remarkable defensive effort from England saw Geva Mentor claim possession and prevent Australia drawing level at the end of the period.

With 15 minutes left on the board to make history and the prospect of extra time looming, England fell four goals behind. Impact substitution George Fisher, who has shot so well through this series, missed her first shot for the Diamonds to take the turnover and a six-goal lead.

Australia suddenly looked comfortable while England capitulated, missing shots and struggling to find that something special they desperately needed.

The final quarter saw England score a miserable five goals to Australia's 18 as the Diamonds achieved their biggest victory over the Roses since 2016.

Earlier, New Zealand beat South Africa 51-50 in a tight match which saw the world champions finish third in the series.