By Muhammad Dhakaba Menya
Australia faced Scotland for the 10th time at the Netball World Cup as the second stage of the preliminaries commenced at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Monday morning. It was a challenging task for the Scots, going up against the 11-time world champions, who had displayed exceptional performance throughout the tournament, scoring 20 or more goals in all but one of their quarters.
Despite a promising start for the Thistles with commendable intensity, they struggled to maintain consistency and soon fell behind, allowing the Aussies to establish a commanding 21-9 lead by the first break. In the second quarter, Australian captain Liz Watson replaced Jamie-Lee Price at center after Price received a caution at the end of the first quarter. Additionally, Sunday Aryang replaced Jo Weston at goal defense. Meanwhile, Scotland coach Tamsin Greenway made multiple changes to her side, offering various players the opportunity to test their skills against the world’s top-ranked team.
Sophie Garbin, the goal attack for Australia, played a significant role in keeping the scoreboard ticking over for the Diamonds, contributing 38 out of Australia’s 43 goals by halftime at an impressive average shooting rate of 95 percent.
Similar to their previous match against England on Sunday, Scotland showcased an impressive performance in the third quarter, with their excellent defense restricting Australia to just 15 goals while scoring 11 goals of their own.
Carrying that momentum into the fourth period, the Thistles intensified their efforts, while the Diamonds seemed to relax their pace slightly, resulting in some sloppy play. However, Australia managed to regain their focus and clinched the final quarter by nine goals, securing a 76-37 victory.
Scotland’s performance was commendable as they became the first team in the tournament to limit Australia to less than 80 goals overall. In her post-match comments, Australian coach Stacey Marinkovich expressed satisfaction with her team’s performance, highlighting their strong start and adaptability.
“I think our center pass was going quite smoothly. I think we didn’t necessarily reward the gains we got defensively but it’s getting to that point where you’re continually looking for growth and execution but you’ve also got to celebrate the wins. We’ve gone four from four and we’ve had some big scoring margins, we’ve rotated and used the variety and depth that we’ve got and people are getting out there and performing,” she said.
Addressing Scotland’s performance, particularly in the third quarter, Marinkovich praised their defensive efforts and emphasized the significance of being able to perform consistently throughout the entire 60-minute match. She acknowledged that every country in the World Cup was showcasing their capabilities and expected continuous growth and evolution from all teams.
Scotland captain Claire Maxwell expressed her team’s delight in playing against the world’s top-ranked team and appreciating the opportunity to assess their own performance against such strong competition. “I think we had passages of absolutely excellent play but there were also times when we could have made better decisions on the court, but overall I’m really pleased.
SCORES
Q1: 21-9
Q2: 43-17 (22-8)
Q3: 58-28 (15-11)
Q4: 76-37 (18-9)
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Jamie-Lee Price (Australia)
