The Silver Ferns coaching panel watches on as their side loses to Australia. Photo / Getty Images
Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken was offering no excuses after her team lost last night's world netball championship final 42-38 in the closing minutes to arch-rivals Australia.
Down 20-27 at halftime, the Silver Ferns refused to roll over and fought every inch of the way, closing to within
a goal with three minutes remaining only to see the Australian poise under intense pressure bring them through.
"I thought we put ourselves in a position in that last quarter when we could have taken the game. They worked so hard to get back into it - the fact that it didn't happen showed the resilience of Australia," Aitken said afterwards.
"Australia did a really good job of effecting our flow through court and into that circle."
There was no mention of the refereeing from Aitken, either, although some of the decisions from Dalton Hinds and Chris Campbell earned the wrath of the partisan and vocal crowd.
"It was swings and roundabouts," Aitken said. "In the end, that wasn't an issue for us. The winning of the game was still in our hands. It just wasn't quite our day."
The main difference between the two teams was obvious - the Australians dominated in terms of possession, pressuring the Silver Ferns all over the court and forcing turnovers regularly.
So although New Zealand shooters Jodi Te Huna and Irene van Dyk only missed eight goals in the entire match, and the Australians missed 18, the huge imbalance in possession meant it didn't matter.
The main orchestrator of New Zealand's misery was Australian goal keep and captain Liz Ellis, who said it wasn't until the final whistle went that she knew the world title was going back across the Tasman.
"New Zealand have great ability to score quickly through Irene, they bring the ball down court really well. There was so much pressure on every attacking play we had, there was no point I thought we had it until the final whistle went," she said.
Although the match took its toll of injuries on both sides, Ellis said it wasn't the most physical she had contested in her 14 years in the Australian team.
"But I do think it was probably one of the most desperate matches I've played in."
- NZPA
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