CARDIFF - New Zealand survived a bruising second-half fightback from England in Cardiff yesterday before prevailing 56-41 and moving into the quarter-finals of the world youth netball championships.
A big first-half effort set up New Zealand's win when they led 35-15, but a change in combination had the team conceding the
second spell 21-26.
The win cemented New Zealand's position as the top qualifier from group B, giving them the easiest route into the tournament's knockout phase beginning today.
Goal attack and captain Adine Harper led New Zealand's first-half onslaught, netting 17 out of her 21 shots at goal and lifting her side with a performance of confidence and vision.
New Zealand led 16-7 after the first quarter and in one period in the second quarter scored eight unanswered goals.
The performance of Harper and shooting partner Daneka Wipiiti, who made 27 out of her 39 shots during the match, was especially creditable against a strong defence spearheaded by England senior goal keep Sonia Mkoloma.
In the second half, England increased their shooting accuracy and played a more physical game, forcing New Zealand into error. New Zealand seemed content to sit on their half-time lead, with coach Georgina Salter using the second half to further experiment with combinations.
Salter said she had expected England to be tough opponents, but she was disappointed with their second-half tactics.
"We had watched them in their earlier games and they had shown they were really skilful. Today, they didn't show any of that skill. Today, they were thugs.
"In the first half we showed real class. Then the English got desperate and resorted to shoddy play, which we didn't handle very well. It's something we have to work on."
In today's quarter-finals, New Zealand will play Malaysia, who finished fourth in group A after a 62-33 win against Canada.
Assuming New Zealand win, they are on track for a semifinal showdown with Jamaica, who lost 41-74 to Australia yesterday in a group A clash.
Australia will play Wales in their quarter-final, while Jamaica meet Scotland, who qualified third in group B.
The other quarter-final match pits England against South Africa, who qualified third in group A with a 70-20 win against Ireland yesterday.
- NZPA
