Diamonds beat England, stay perfect at Nations Cup
Australia have pipped hosts England by two goals to notch consecutive wins at the Netball Nations Cup in London.
The Diamonds triumphed England 61-59 at Wembley Arena on Monday (AEDT) to follow their opening 13-goal win over New Zealand.
In a repeat of last year’s World Cup final which Australia won in Cape Town, England overturned a five-goal halftime deficit and led by two goals going into the final period.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.But Australia rallied, scoring 18 goals to 14 in the last stanza to clinch victory with goal shooter Sophie Garbin landing 26 from 27 attempts.
“They (England) certainly contested really hard and we were struggling to get the ball at different times,” Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich said.
“So we used personnel changes to keep changing things up.
“But that was international netball at its highest, the crowd was loud, it’s hard to think and that’s what you want in these competitions.
“There’s a bit of banter out there and it’s certainly passionate on court.
“The girls know each other extremely well and I think sometimes the more you know someone, the more freedom you have to go harder.”
England must now beat world No.2 New Zealand in their final group match in Leeds to reach the decider of the tournament which also features world No.7 Uganda.
Australia meet the Africans for the first time in their history, also next Saturday.
“The girls are extremely excited to go out and embrace that moment, it’s very historic for Netball Australia,” Marinkovich said.
“We have just got to keep on the way we’re playing ... keep doing our job.”
Earlier in the day, Uganda came close to causing an upset against the Silver Ferns but eventually were beaten 65-60 by the 2019 World Cup winners.
