Vixens defence nullifies Magic attack

Magic captain Amigene Metcalfe reckons every match in the transtasman competition feels like a final, the intensity is so high.
Last night the intensity got the better of Magic as they suffered their second ANZ Championship netball loss, 40-47 to the Vixens in Melbourne last night.
Back with Magic after 16 months, Metcalfe says the weekly intensity of the new competition has made every game feel like the big one.
However, the 34-year-old midcourter said that was to be expected as every opponent brought their A-game against Magic, the team to beat.
"There's so much footage of all teams now, other teams come pretty much ready to disrupt what we do ... so our flow's not quite right [on attack] but we're picking up a lot defensively."
That was true of last night's torrid affair, during which too little turnover was converted into goals for Magic. The Waikato Bay of Plenty team was found wanting on attack, the shooters unable to overcome the fervid defence of the Australians and wasting too many opportunities afforded by some excellent work from defenders Casey Williams and Joline Henry.
The game was locked at 21-all at half time but a disastrous start to the third spell saw Colourplus-sponsored Magic end the quarter down 28-34.
Goal shoot Irene van Dyk was out of sorts, moving out to goal attack for the last quarter. That seemed to open up the shooting third and Magic levelled the score again but the unforced errors which dogged them at crucial times all game, proved fatal in the end.
Magic allowed the home side a seven-goal run in the last four minutes, depriving themselves of even a bonus point. Metcalfe conceded hesitation resulted in costly errors and the team would now focus on getting back up for this weekend's match against Steel in Christchurch.
Despite the loss, Metcalfe is relishing her return to the court. Husband Grant is off work caring for 14-month-old Ryan and 4-year-old Jorja, enabling her to focus on her netball.
After putting in the hard yards to regain her fitness pre-season, Metcalfe is ``pretty happy' with her progress.
"You always know you have more in you and want to perform at your best every week but I'm happy I'm competitive in this league."
She's also enjoying facing the Australian playing style. "The lines and angles they run are harder, they meet the ball stronger and their passes are a lot flatter and faster, so there's not a lot of time to look for the ball on defence."
Despite last night's result, Magic remain competition leaders on 16 points with Australian teams Vixens, Swifts and Thunderbirds close behind, all on 14. Firebirds have 12, while Tactix and Steel are further adrift with 10 points each. Mystics have 6, Fever 3 and Pulse 1.