Netball: Powerful Flames too strong for the Force

The Force's chances of advancing to the National Bank Cup playoffs suffered a major setback yesterday when they were beaten by the Canterbury Flames 42-39 in a scrappy encounter at the North Shore Events Centre.

The North Harbour side led in the first two quarters but struggled with the Flames' physical defence throughout the match and in the third quarter let the less experienced Canterbury side get on top.

The Flames, ably led by powerful Silver Fern defender Vilimaina Davu, led by two at the three-quarter break, then managed to hold off the Force in the last quarter to claim the confidence-boosting win.

But the match was not pretty. There was far too much contact off ball and a lot of unnecessary attitude from the players.

"I would have liked the game to have been stopped and the players told, 'Just get on with the game'," said Force coach Yvonne Willering.

However, she was quick to point out it was not the niggle that cost her side the match.

"They have been there before ... we became reliant on the umpire and that is not the way to play it. We had to tough it out and they were tougher on the day."

There was nothing flashy about the Flames' performance; in fact, at times they appeared quite disjointed.

The key to their success was former Auckland shooter Shelley Norris.

Although she clashed with every defender placed in front of her and had more than a few words of advice for the umpires, Norris was readily available for her feeders.

She netted an impressive 36 shots from 41 attempts.

"I thought she was the rock in our group," said Flames coach Margaret Foster.

"Her shooting under pressure was outstanding, I thought she kept her composure and she did a couple of things that really lifted the group."

The Flames players couldn't help but celebrate the victory, which probably came as much of a surprise to them as it did to the couple of thousand spectators who turned out to support the Force.

When the final whistle sounded, Maree Grubb threw her arms in the air as if she had won the London Marathon.

Foster said both teams had their chances.

"We took the opportunity at the right time," she said.

"But it is only game three, we have a long way to go, but we are on target to what we want to achieve."

For the Force, their quest for a semifinal spot has become substantially harder.

At the start of the season they would have been banking on a win against the Flames.

"It has made the road tough," Willering said.

"I won't accept any excuses, we just have to dig deep."

At Waitakere Stadium on Saturday night the Auckland Waitakere Diamonds turned in a lacklustre performance to beat the Capital Shakers 54-41.

After a messy start the Diamonds took control in the second quarter and led by 10 at half-time.

Silver Ferns captain Anna Rowberry was the standout performer.

Her feeding into her shooters, in particular Jo Morrison, was nothing short of outstanding.

Diamonds coach Sue Hawkins had plenty of praise for the Shakers. "I thought they held on with us all the way through. At no time could we take them lightly.

"I was disappointed with our transition ... when we got a bonus situation we just threw it away."

The Southern Sting managed to hold out a determined Otago Rebels side in Dunedin on Saturday, winning 54-39.

In what was touted as the match of the round the Sting went into the first break 13-12 ahead before gradually extending their lead to 28-20 at half time and 41-31 at three-quarter time.

In the other match of the weekend, the Magic were far too strong for the Flyers, winning by a comfortable 69-36.

Round three

* Magic 69 Flyers 36
* Diamonds 54 Shakers 41
* Sting 54 Rebels 39
* Flames 42 Force 39