“Whangara’s shown improvement this round, but this is semifinals time.
“The pressure will be on both teams to work as a team on attack and defence for the full hour.”
YMP have won two of the previous games between these teams this season but in their last game two weeks ago Whangara turned the tables and won by two goals.
“Both teams know each other’s play, so this will be very competitive,” Beale said.
Whangara coach Ronnie Martin said her girls were all excited to have got this far.
“The next step is to try to win tomorrow night and go straight through to the final.
“That is the easy path but as least we have a second life,” Martin said.
“The last time we played them, my girls played strongly and confidently, and the skill of the netball was great. I hope they can re-create that performance tomorrow night.”
Martin said her team were “pretty much focused”.
“They know what they need to be doing.
“If we’re to win, our shooting has to be accurate and our defence when they are shooting needs to be strong. Really, the whole team need to be right-on defensively.
“It will certainly be a very good game.”
YMP will have the loss to Whangara two weeks ago fresh in their minds and it will motivate them.
They will want a faster, more confident start than they mustered against Ritana Senior A on Saturday.
But the way they lifted their play and took charge of the match after a shaky start spoke volumes for their quality as a team.
“It’s going to be an epic battle as we head into the business end of the competition,” YMP coach Ingrid Brown said.
“Our strategy this week is to be geared up and ready to go, and the girls definitely want to put a great performance out there.
“Persistence, maximising our opportunities when they arise, control and balance are our keys to Wednesday,” Brown said.
“It is having faith and belief in each other, and that will to win for each other.
“Straight to the point, do we want to take the short road or the long road to the final.
“At the end of the day, both teams have experience, and in different areas of the court,” Brown said.
YMP have been the most consistent team through the round-robin and their status as competition leaders was well earned.
Any issues they had with the loss through injury of Renee Wikaire in midcourt appear to have been sorted out.
Against Lytton on Saturday, they moved the ball through court at speed into the hands of ever-reliable shooter Paku-Jane Skudder and her shooting partner Kelanne Kemp.
If they reproduce that sort of flow, they will be hard to stop.
The match starts at 7.30pm.
In the bottom-three semifinal at 6pm, fifth-placed Ritana Senior A will play seventh-placed Champers Horouta Gold.
“Ritana Senior A have shown real improvement this season, and they work together as a team,” Beale said.
“Horouta Gold have experienced heads but they will need their top game to take this.”
She said Ritana’s goal defenders had built a good understanding and would put pressure on the Horouta shooters.
“At the other end, the Horouta defenders will need to stop the high lob going in to Ritana goal shoot Keasi Williams-Fonohema.”
Last time out, just 10 days ago, Ritana defeated Horouta 62-38.
The school team pressed hard late in the round-robin for a spot in the top four. They will want to ensure they finish fifth.
That begins with Horouta tomorrow night.
