Perspective important for Mansfield's Wasps - The Coventry Observer

Perspective important for Mansfield's Wasps

Coventry Editorial 10th Mar, 2020   0

MEL Mansfield has told her Wasps Netball players to look at the bigger picture and not panic after falling to a second defeat in their opening three Vitality Superleague games.

Hosts Team Bath outgunned the visitors 63-51 in Friday night’s clash, despite Wasps leading 32-17 at half-time.

Mansfield labelled it a metaphoric “game of two halves” and felt the decision by her side to sit back more was ultimately costly.

“We had a strong first quarter which is what I asked for and then a poor second half,” said Wasps’ head coach.




“I don’t think Bath were ever out of it, and just before half-time they were coming back strong at us.

“We stopped attacking the game and did force some turnovers in quarter three, but we didn’t convert those into goals.


“I’ve said to the girls that we’ve got to get some perspective – this is only game three.

“I thought we would have been better here, but we’ll get back into training and start to prepare for another big game against Severn Stars next Saturday (6pm).”

A fast start led to plenty of goals being exchanged by both sides in the opening exchanges, a period which Wasps came out on top in by taking a 15-10 lead into quarter two.

Rachel Dunn was a key architect in the lead that the visitors had built and remained a threat throughout the half, linking up well with fellow attacker Iona Christian.

Together, alongside Lexi Baker, the trio fired their side into a 15-goal lead at the halfway point.

But the hosts appeared reinvigorated by their half-time team talk and were a different force in the second half, wiping out Wasps lead in the third quarter to take a 44-42 lead.

As hard as Mansfield’s girls tried, they were unable to stem the flow of Bath’s momentum and, as a result, were defeated by a clear margin at the final buzzer.

Saturday’s opponents Severn Stars have lost all three of their opening games so far, and were defeated 60-45 in the previous meeting between the two at Worcester Arena last May.

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