Netball: Aitken praises Ferns' fightback

Coach Ruth Aitken praised the Silver Ferns' composure after they came back to nail a 65-59 victory over dogged hosts England in a one-off netball test today.

New Zealand looked to have butchered the opportunity to land a psychological blow ahead of the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games when they squandered a four-goal final quarter advantage.

Locked at 51-51 at the end of regulation, the sides went into extra time, where the Ferns quickly refocused.

In the first of two extra time periods New Zealand built a six-goal buffer, which they maintained to eventually prevail with a degree of comfort at Bath University.

Confusion reigned at the end of normal time when match officials declared a draw despite tournament rules allowing for two seven-minute segments of extra time to find a winner.

Some of the crowd had already filed from the arena before Irene van Dyk and Maria Tutaia wrestled back the initiative after the Silver Ferns wobbled badly in the fourth quarter.

England outscored the Silver Ferns 13-9 in the final quarter as the hosts became less susceptible to turning over possession.

Star defenders Geva Mentor and Sonia Mkoloma finally made life difficult for Van Dyk and Tutaia and New Zealand's passing accuracy deteriorated as Pamela Cookey and Louisa Brownfield combined to give England a surprise 46-45 lead with 6min 38secs to play.

England led by two with 2min 43secs remaining but Brownfield experienced a rare and costly miss to enable Tutaia to equalise inside the final 90 secs.

Van Dyk then gave New Zealand a tenuous lead but Cookey showed remarkable calmness to pull England level again with 16 secs left.

Van Dyk was denied a match-winning attempt from close range when officials blew fulltime when she was lining up a shot.

It was an ideal result for New Zealand, before they head to Jamaica for two tests next week in Kingston.

New Zealand dominated from the opening centre pass and closed the opening quarter with a handy 19-12 lead but England refused to buckle and fought back strongly.

Aitken confessed to some anxious moments as England rallied although she was delighted with the poise her team showed once extra time was confirmed.

"I didn't need to say much," she said.

"You looked in the eyes of those players and they were determined to go out there. They were grateful to have a second chance and I just knew they were committed to it."

Aitken was irked by the Ferns' drop in intensity in the final quarter but full of praise for England, the world No 3.

"England are a very good side, especially those circle defenders (Mkoloma and Mentor).

"I think we just eased up a bit . It was a salient lesson for our lot. You might start well but you have to build on it during the game."

Goalkeep and captain Casey Williams was also frustrated by New Zealand's lethargic end to normal time but the response more than compensated.

"(At fulltime) we sat down and told each other 'be ready, it's not over yet'. We never once switched off as soon as that whistle went, we were definitely prepared to go out for more," she said.

"It's great to know we have the skill, fitness and mental toughness to go into overtime and still perform."

New Zealand has a perfect three-from-three record in recent years when tests extend into extra time.

The Silver Ferns won the Commonwealth Games gold in Melbourne three years ago and the opening test, also against Australia, in 2007 by the same method.

New Zealand headed from Bath to Gatwick Airport outside London after the match where they would overnight before flying to the Caribbean to tackle the world No 4 "Sunshine Girls" on Wednesday and Friday.

- NZPA