SCOTLAND’S Sirens were defeated 57-43 by Wasps in their opening match of the Vitality Netball Superleague but showed enough to suggest that they can put up a real challenge for the remainder of the season.
It was a historic night for netball in Scotland and it was a spectacular occasion at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. Scotland’s first-ever professional netball team has been a full year in the making and there were considerable pre-match nerves as Sirens approached the first whistle.
A 4000-strong sell-out crowd packed into the venue, among them a host of celebrities including the wrestler Grado and the patron of Netball Scotland and Britain’s most successful-ever female Olympian, Katherine Grainger.
With almost every person in the stands supporting Sirens, the home team had a wave of noise pushing them towards goal every time they had the ball in their possession and the presence of the Sky Sports television cameras gave the game an extra edge.
Sirens made a nervy start, with Wasps looking the sharper team in the opening few minutes. But as the home team shook off their initial tightness, they cut out their unforced errors and pulled level mid-way through the first quarter.
Captain Claire Brownie made her presence felt with some good play and Sirens’ New Zealand import Ellen Halpenny was also impressive. Their persistence paid off and Sirens sneaked ahead when a goal from Jamaican former world championship bronze medallist Carla Borrego made it 13-12 as the first quarter came to a close.
However, Wasps stepped it up a level in the second quarter.
The team from Coventry were also making their debut in the Superleague and in the second period they showed why they are one of the favourites to take the title.
For anyone who has the idea that netball is a soft, non-contact sport, they needed only to watch a few minutes of the game last night to be proven wrong. The match became more physical and when the English team increased their intensity and sharpened up their passing, Sirens struggled to keep up. Wasps pulled ahead and by half-time were 32-19 in front.
It was a lead they never relinquished. Sirens battled hard and although they closed the gap slightly, Wasps’ lead was too much to be overturned. An opening win may have eluded the Scots but there were several reasons to be encouraged, not least the impact they are likely to make on the sporting landscape in the coming months.
For patron Grainger, there is much to be excited about. “This is massive for women’s sport,” the Olympic gold medal winner said. “The first of anything in women’s sport is always a breakthrough moment and so the formation of Sirens is huge.I know from my 20 years in professional sport that every time women have a breakthrough, whether it be getting onto the world stage, getting television or newspaper coverage or getting on the podium for the first time, it makes a difference to girls watching and so this will make a real difference.
“The improvements are always slow but steady but when anything like this happens, it always gets you many steps ahead of where you were.
“In the time I’ve spent with netball in Scotland, it’s been so amazing to see them develop and grow and seeing everything at this first match, their launch match, for them to be getting televised coverage is just fabulous.”
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