Netball: Mystics end Invercargill drought with big win over Steel

The Mystics sit top of the table with two wins. Michael Bradley Photography

Mystics 70
Steel 50

It's been seven years since the Northern Mystics tasted victory in Invercargill but they finally broke the southern curse with a commanding 20-goal win over the Southern Steel tonight.

The crushing end to the Steel's reign of glory on home turf was a night to forget for the hosts, with captain Shannon Saunders pinpointing the ability for small errors to snowball into gains for the Mystics as the key reason for the huge final deficit.

"We definitely had the players out there that could do it, we just needed to be smarter with the ball; it was just basic errors," Saunders said.

After stunning the Tactix last week by 17 goals in the opening round of the competition, the Steel were unable to regain any of that form and fell early after a dominant start by the visitors.

Those basic technical errors plagued the Steel throughout the first quarter and saw the Mystics soar to a 10-goal lead after 15 minutes.

The absence of goal shoot George Fisher was felt by the Steel in the first quarter but her introduction in the second did little to stem the Mystics onslaught, who maintained their lead to halftime.

Persistent work in the circle by Steel goal keep Kate Burley couldn't deter Mystics shooter Grace Nweke, who produced another great performance, shooting 50 goals from 52
attempts.

A short-lived surge in the third quarter brought the Steel back within seven but their inconsistencies throughout the court stopped any real attempt at a comeback.

The introduction of speedy Mystics wing attack Peta Toeava in the second half only added to the Steel's woes. Her connection with Nweke in the goal third proved too
much for the Steel.

Dejection had taken hold when the Steel stepped out on court for the fourth quarter, with several looking as though they couldn't wait for the final whistle. The Mystics capitalised
to win the final quarter by eight goals.

It was a superb end to the weekend for the Mystics, who won both their second-round matches and showed no signs of slowing against the Steel despite a tough physical battle
against the Central Pulse on Saturday night.

They meet the Pulse again in Auckland on Sunday afternoon, while the Steel will be looking to regain some home-turf dominance against the Northern Stars in Invercargill.

Shooting Stats - Steel:
George Fisher 24/28 (86%)
Saviour Tui 19/25 (76%)
Georgia Heffernan 7/10 (70%)

Shooting Stats - Mystics:
Grace Nweke 50/52 (96%)
Filda Vui 10/11 (91%)
Monica Falkner 10/12 (83%)