'Excited' Magic side not daunted by road trips

SPIRITS SOAR: New Silver Fern Ellen Halpenny is part of a Kia Magic team suddenly high on confidence after a poor end to the regular season. PHOTO/BEN FRASER A-080514BF6

Finishing fourth in the ANZ Championship round robin was always going to make it tough for the Kia Magic in the title race.

It meant the road to another title would inevitably run through Australia's three largest cities - Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in some order - a seemingly impossible task given the difficulty New Zealand sides have had in winning across the ditch since this competition began.

But the Magic, following their last-gasp 50-49 victory on the road against the NSW Swifts, believe they are every chance of causing another boilover or two beginning with the Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane on Monday night.

"It's exciting," said coach Julie Fitzgerald, who will have a full squad to choose from before the team leave for Brisbane tomorrow morning.

"I think it's the pressure time of the season and it's great to see them handle the pressure so well."

Fitzgerald played down the difficulty of travelling to Australia three times in as many weeks to win a title, saying the players were up for the challenge and generally unconcerned about who they played and where.

She was disappointed with some aspects of the team's performance against the Firebirds in the round robin, but knows the side now have momentum.

The side, who started the competition in fine form before dropping four of their last five matches to finish fourth, trailed by as many as seven goals against the Swifts before their trademark stingy defence turned the tide.

Plenty of confidence would have been gained from the win, especially considering Jo Harten's last-second heroics stemmed from a centre pass taken with just 14 seconds left on the clock.

The Firebirds, who lost 52-47 to the Melbourne Vixens in the major semifinal, will start as favourites.

The winner will advance to meet the Vixens in the final on June 22.