Magic 50
Tactix 46
The Magic have survived a tight tussle with the Canterbury Tactix to reclaim their top of the table status in netball's transtasman league.
But it is unlikely the Magic will remain at the top of the the ANZ Championship for long if they produce another patchy performance like that of last night in Rotorua.
The hosts struggled under the immense pressure of the Tactix through-court defence, making far too many errors, with passing accuracy a particular concern.
But this was a very physical Tactix side, with several players guilty of over-stepping the mark at times with their aggressive approach.
Leading by just one-goal heading into the final spell, the Magic were able to grind out an unconvincing win on the back of a couple of crucial mistakes from the Tactix down the stretch.
The relief was evident on the face of Magic co-captain Irene van Dyk after the match. "That was way to close for comfort," she said.
"They capitalised on our mistakes and made it really hard with their through court defence and scored off our turnovers."
The Magic sprung a surprise in their starting line-up with van Dyk appearing at goal attack for the first time this season, while Maria Tutaia donned the goal-shoot bib. It was a ploy coach Noeline Taurua used last season with mixed success.
New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken drew a great deal of criticism when she started Van Dyk at goal attack in the second test against England last year, in which they suffered a two-goal loss.
The tactic again wasn't successful last night, with the Magic lacking the same punch and drive in their attack end creating a lot of muddled play around the shooting circle. Taurua eventually reverted back to the status quo following halftime.
The home side lost the ball too often in a dire start to the match.
The Tactix also took time to settle, perhaps due to the absence through illness of key playmaker Maree Bowden. Just three goals had been scored after four minutes of play.
When the Magic did get the ball into the shooting circle, the long arms of Sonia Mkoloma caused the usually accurate Van Dyk and Tutaia all sorts of problems - the latter shooting at just 43 per cent for the first period.
It was not surprising the scores were tied 10-all at the first break.
The game opened up in the second spell. Magic midcourter Laura Langman put some impressive feeds into the shooting circle as Van Dyk and Tutaia began to find more space.
Leana de Bruin made a surprise appearance after halftime, introduced at goal keep with Casey Williams pushed out to goal defence. With de Bruin well into the second trimester of her pregnancy it was thought the Silver Fern defender would see out the rest of the season on the bench.
However the Tactix enjoyed the freedom of having two space-marking defenders on them, with the new attacking line of Bowden and Anna Thompson, who came on after the break, allowed too much room.
After a shock win over the Queensland Firebirds last weekend, the Tactix seemed near another big upset, trailing by one goal going into the final spell.
But the experience of the Magic shone through in the end as they scraped home by four goals.
