By JENNI RUTHERFORD
A first-half experiment caused Force coach Maria Lynch to mop her brow after a narrow 53-49 win against the CMTV Cometz in netball's Coca-Cola Cup yesterday.
Lynch wanted to post an unfamiliar lineup for the first 30 minutes, wary of becoming too predictable, but the closeness of the match caused the Australian to break out in a sweat.
"Teams are getting to know our starting lineup ... I wanted to upset their [the Cometz] rhythm and experiment with the combinations," she said.
Of the changes, goal attack Anna Tai started for the Force with Tania Nicholson on the bench, reducing the height advantage, experience and communication with goal shoot Teresa Tairi in the circle and enabling the Cometz' defensive combination of Koren Pickard and Bobbie McKay to pressure the centre pass and cause Tai to run in circles.
The agility of Sharlene Smith at wing defence coupled with the speed of Temepara George at centre made for a pacy Force midcourt. Sheryl Clarke began the game at goal defence a head shorter than her opposite Jodi Whitmore, whose shooting statistics were outstanding: she missed just four of her 25 attempts at goal, before Kate Dowling took over.
The game was wide open until the final four minutes. Even with the Force's strongest and experienced seven on court, the Cometz refused to give up.
With the first quarter tied at 12-12, the Cometz were ahead, 26-23, at the second, and 37-36 in the third quarters, and lost momentum only in the final minutes.
A scramble for the loose ball between Clarke and Smith, leaving Clarke on the ground and Smith crashing into the advertising boards, was the defining moment for the Force.
"The turning point was the scuffle involving Sheryl and Sharlene, their determination gave the team the motivation to finish it," said Lynch.
Cometz coach Ruth Aitken admitted that her team faltered right at the end.
"The last five to 10 minutes we were frozen in attack, and with Tania Nicholson cutting the circle the Force just got away."
Aitken coached Nicholson at Waikato last year and confessed it grated to see her easily laying up goals in the dying stages of the game. But she was happy to come away with a bonus point for losing within five goals.
The Auckland Diamonds have had a miserable away campaign, losing by one goal on Friday night to defending champions the Southern Sting, 59-58, and then suffering an 11-goal defeat at the hands of the Canterbury Flames to end up near the bottom of the table.
The Capital Shakers have continued their winning ways, beating the Western Flyers 71-49 in New Plymouth, and the Otago Rebels had a close call with bottom of the table Magic before winning 64-58.
Netball: Force wins close contest
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