Scotland and Wales retained their unbeaten records to jump into the box seats as the 2023 Netball World Cup Europe qualifiers continued in Glasgow.
Two teams will go through from these qualifiers to the finals in Cape Town next year and Scotland and Wales made big strides in beating Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, respectively, on day three.
Scotland made it three out of three wins when beating Northern Ireland 65-38. Scotland took an early lead which they then continued to extend with their goal shooter, Bethan Goodwin commanding the attacking circle, protecting the back space and putting on a shooting masterclass in the opening 15 minutes.
Scotland started the second quarter 18-6 up, but they showed no sign of slowing down scoring another 16 goals.
Alex Martin sunk her first shot of the match and the first of the second half for Northern Ireland and it started a much stronger quarter for the underdogs who went on to add 10 goals to their tally, but still trailed 49-25 with 15 minutes to go.
Tamsin Greenway’s Thistles then saw out the game in style in the fourth quarter.
The opening quarter between Republic of Ireland and Wales was close and it was only late on that the Welsh Feathers started to dominate, taking a 13-6 lead into the first break.
Wales had a much more successful second quarter, with Nia Jones commanding the centre court at wing defence, both physically and vocally, keeping Ireland’s second quarter goal tally down to two and allowing Wales to take a 34-8 lead into half-time.
Wales were back on track to securing their third victory of the qualifiers by the end of penultimate quarter, as they scored a flurry of goals to extend their lead to 55-14.
Ireland kept fighting till the end but despite their strong start to the game, they were still left waiting for their first win as they were defeated by Wales 75-23.
Isle Of Man and Gibraltar were searching for their first win of the qualifiers, and it was Isle of Man that came out on top collecting the two points, winning 43-33.
Isle Of Man started the second-half leading 19-10 and the half started very much like the firs had gone. Despite the third quarter score being much closer at 13-10 to the Isle of Man, they held a 32–20 lead going into the final 15-minutes.
The fourth quarter was Gibraltar’s strongest so far, (they edged it 13-11), but it wasn’t enough to take the victory thanks to the Isle of Man’s strong second quarter.
RESULTS SO FAR
Wales 78 Isle Of Man 22
Wales 95 Gibraltar 19
Wales 75 Republic Of Ireland 23
Northern Ireland 68 Gibraltar 19
Northern Ireland 59 Republic Of Ireland 24
Scotland 87 Republic Of Ireland 17
Scotland 82 Isle Of Man 20
Scotland 65 Northern Ireland 38
Isle Of Man 43 Gibraltar 33
