As the final round of the regular season approaches in the Vitality Netball Superleague, the equation for Team Bath is a simple one – beat London Pulse and a semi-final spot belongs to them.
Bath’s fate is firmly in their own hands and, with all five matches of the final round of the regular season starting at 6pm on Saturday their focus can only be on themselves.
The other two teams alongside them on 36 points in the table – Manchester Thunder and Loughborough Lightning – also know that victories will secure them top-four places. Meanwhile, Saracens Mavericks will be hoping that one of the trio slip up.
- Latest standings
Team Bath are the most successful team in Superleague history, with five titles to their name, but their last came back in 2013 and this term they have won 12 of their 17 matches to date.
This season-defining match will be live on Sky Sports Arena from 5.45pm on Saturday and, as we continue to make our netball coverage more accessible than ever before, will also be streamed live on the Sky Sports YouTube channel.
- Watch this Vitality Superleague match on YouTube
- Vitality Superleague: Round 18 preview
When it comes to victories in their first term, Pulse have found the going tough and have come away with just two. However, if they are on their game they can make life very difficult for the top sides, as Saracens Mavericks know only too well.
Vitality Superleague standings after Round 17
“There is still a lot of work to do and, despite their league position, Pulse will be a dangerous team. They beat Mavericks a couple of weeks ago and only lost by five in a high-scoring match against Lightning on Saturday,” said Team Bath head coach Jess Thirlby.
“The return of former Team Bath player and England captain Ama Agbeze from injury has given them a massive lift and they will want to sign off their debut season with a statement of intent.”
Pulse are eminently capable of making such a statement if they put in an all-court performance for 60 minutes and avoid the lapses in concentration that have seen them let sides run away from them.
Equally, starting with their most potent combinations from the word go would go a long way towards ramping up the pressure on the home side.
In their victory over Mavericks, Pulse’s attack end consisted of Chiara Semple and Shantal Slater in the circle being fed by Ash Neal at WA. It is a combination that packs a punch but has not consistently been selected by their head coach Te Aroha Keenan.
Pulse’s goal must be to rattle Bath from the opening seconds, their hosts are the ones that need this victory and are the ones that could get the jitters if they find themselves down at half, or even three-quarter, time.
Ultimately the form book, and the season’s results as a whole, signal that this match should belong to Team Bath. But, after so many twists and turns, nothing is ever certain and the only way to find out exactly what happens is to join us on Saturday evening.
Tamsin Greenway’s Match Focus
It’s the toughest game of the round, I would say.
Pulse, although they lost, scored 62 goals against Loughborough which is huge. Slater and Semple have become a really lethal combination. As a side they are inconsistent but Bath just cannot take them lightly.
Always a tough away fixture but really proud of the mature performance put out by my @TeamBathNetball ladies. Great to get the 3 points and keep the pressure on the @NetballSL finals & title race. Exciiittiingggg ?? we go again next Saturday at home! See you there! @SkyNetball
For me, Bath also have a consistency issue – how do they look world class one minute and then average the next? And, a big issue is how many goals they are scoring.
They are the only team in the top four without a target shooter – they work with a rotating circle. So, when they get it right it has to be pinpoint… the screens have to work, the pops have to work and the timing has to be spot on.
Source: Read Full Article