Netball: Mystics settle for draw after late meltdown

Mystics player Laura Langman. Photo / Dean Purcell.

Northern Mytsics 51
Thunderbirds 51

A two-minute meltdown has cost the Northern Mystics a golden opportunity to snatch a win on Aussie soil.

The Auckland side had to settle for a draw against the Thunderbirds in Adelaide today after letting a five-goal lead slip in the final two minutes of the match.

The 51-all draw will be tough result to take for the Mystics after the team dominated for long stretches of the game, leading by seven goals during a few stages of the match on the back of a much more patient and composed performance on attack.

But that composure and strong execution that had been a feature of their play for most of the game eluded the Mystics when it counted, as they came unstuck as the Thunderbirds ramped up the pressure in a frantic final few minutes to the match. The homeside scored the last five goals of the match in the space of just two minutes to pick up their first point of the season.

Incredibly, the stalemate in Adelaide was the second draw in a matter of hours, after the Firebirds held the Swifts to a 47-all draw in Sydney after the NSW side produced a stirring final quarter comeback. This is the first season in which drawn results will stand during the regular rounds, with competition organisers opting to scrap overtime to appease broadcasters.

Mystics midcourter Laura Langman, who today became the most-capped player in the ANZ Championship with 108 matches, said her side needed to look at where their composure let them down in the final spell. Langman admitted she herself was guilty of failing to execute over the final minutes, with Thunderbirds' skipper Renae Hallinan coming up with a crucial block after Langman stepped in to try deliver the ball into the circle.

"We need to look at how our game smarts let us down today," said Langman.
"This will be a lesson to all of us that we need to play to the whistle and you're never down and out."

After a 16-goal defeat to the Fever in Perth last week, the Mystics will take some heart in today's result. The combination between Maria Tutaia and Cathrine Latu, who played her first full match following surgery to remove her appendix in the preseason, was generally slick and polished. The Auckland side also showed a lot of patience on attack when they needed to, with the team prepared to take their time in working the ball into the circle - an area that has been traditionally lacking in their game. The more patient approach saw the Mystics cut down their error rate from 30 last week to 17 today.

In the earlier game, the Swifts and Firebirds made history as the first two sides to record a draw in the ANZ Championship. But the result would have left both sides feeling a little hollow.

Heading into the final quarter with a 39-32 lead, the Firebirds looked to be headed for a comfortable win over the highly-touted Swifts. But the re-introduction of Swifts captain Kim Green, who had a spell on the bench in the third quarter, helped spur a stunning comeback from the homeside. As the Swifts closed in on the lead, the Firebirds came unstuck, losing their confidence to let the ball go on attack.

While the Swifts can be proud of their fightback, they would have been disappointed not to close the game out, with shooter Caitlin Thwaites missing an attempt from out in front in the final few seconds of the match.