Helen Housby’s late goal sealed an unlikely England win over Australia
(Picture: Getty Images)Before the Lionesses came England’s netball team, the sport’s eureka moment emerging at the last Commonwealth Games.
Gold had already been draped over the shoulders of the Australian team on the Gold Coast such had been their domination.
But Helen Housby’s goal with the last moment of the game to seal an unlikely win not only sparked team celebrations but a platform which has helped ignite the sport.
The challenge of Australia comes sooner this time in the semi-finals after the Diamonds, as they are affectionately known Down Under, were surprisingly defeated by Jamaica. England, meanwhile, took an early lead over New Zealand in their group came and led throughout for a 54-44 win.
Coach Jess Thirlby said she and the team were unfazed about taking on the world No1’s before the final.
“We all know that task is a big one but I think if you can arrive there feeling confident of taking the scalp of a team ranked above you in the world rankings then it’s a better place to be,” she said.
“That’s got to be good for our confidence. It’s a better place to be than picking ourselves up from a loss. We’ll take that.
“This group like making history and we’ve got a big task against a wounded team. They will be very rational about their performance against Jamaica and they’ve still got the same route as us to the final.”
Sunday has the potential to be another seismic moment for women’s sport in this country. As well as possibly going for netball gold, the women’s hockey team have the prospect of a final of their own if they can beat New Zealand this evening, while the cricketers were taking on India today with a place in the last four at stake.
Playing in front a packed crowd at the NEC in Birmingham, the only time that England’s netballers found themselves under threat came when New Zealand pegged their advantage to just a solitary point at half-time.
Integral to that win was goalkeeper Geva Mentor, who at 37 is the elder stateswoman of the team.
Looking ahead to Saturday afternoon’s semi-final, she said of their Australian opponents: “I expect them to be licking their wounds but move straight on. I expect it to be a really sharp contest out there, and hopefully we can deliver for the crowd.”
