“The crowd helped us through,” Halimat Adio reflects on memorable victory

By Paul Prenderville

London Pulse players were still signing autographs and posing for selfies almost an hour after the conclusion of an epic 53-52 win over Loughborough Lightning on Saturday evening.

With her family and friends surrounding her, Halimat Adio looked around and was beaming with pride after a Pulse victory that had a little bit of everything in Round 3.

It was a memorable night in the capital, the sort of night the 2024 Netball Superleague will hope to see more of across the country as the sport prepares for it’s journey to professionalisation.

More than 3,700 fans were on the edge of their seat for every minute of the repeat of last season’s Grand Final, this time Pulse were victorious over a Lightning squad that proved once again they are likely to be in the mix at the end of the season.

“That was so, so good to play in,” Adio told us when asked about the atmosphere, and the fierce contest.

“I was so proud of the fight, going down a couple of times but we kept pushing on and that was all that mattered.”

As you would expect in a match between teams that expect to contend again in 2024 there were epic battles all over the court. Teenager Izzi Phillips stood up to the experience of Nat Panagarry, Olivia Tchine and Berri Neil gave the physical Lightning defence their toughest test so far.

However it was in defence where the challenges changed. Mary Cholhok represents as stern a test as there is netball, and Lightning had racked up 146 goals in the first two games. Rhea Dixon had started both wins and caused early problems, but it was the introduction of Ella Clark that edged LIghtning back into the game.

Sticking to task, Adio and Funmi Fadoju picked up six interceptions and seven deflections between them. They reacted, adapted and as Adio says had prepared for all eventualities.

“Mary is one of the best shooters I have ever played against, she is so strong, but we had done her homework on her and I think that showed.

“Rhea is so quick, so versatile and we had to shut that down and then when Ella Clark came on we had to then change our tactics which worked.

“I’m just one of those defenders that does not want a shooter to get a shot in, so when I miss a ball I get a bit upset but coming into this game in particular I had to change my mindset.

“It is about what I am doing next, the pressure I am putting on and remembering that if they have to do four more phases that the previous one, that’s a good thing for me.

“Loughborough are a class side and we had to make sure we were shutting down everything and attacking through their strong defensive unit.”

For Pulse it was a second win of the season, a win over the defending champions, followed victory over Surrey Storm and that defeat at Season Opener to Manchester Thunder is now firmly behind them. 

Different challenges await after taking on their fellow top four teams from last season across the first three rounds to sit fourth in the early NSL standings. Team Bath, unbeaten Severn Stars and Leeds Rhinos are the next block of fixtures and there is more to come, says Adio.

“Nottingham, that was not us,” the England Roses goalkeeper admits when asked about the team’s response to Round 1.

“We knew it wasn’t our best performance. We knew we had to sit down as a group and figure out what was going on, what went wrong, what went right and we came into the Lightning game with all guns blazing.

“We can still do better, it’s the start of the season and we will only get stronger. We have some new players, we will keep improving, keep pushing. But we need to cherish the good things we do as well on court, and we were able to show that.

Red hot shooting, mid-court playmaking and defensive dominance, it was a win that featured a little bit of everything. But it was the epic crowd that deserves the final word.

“I was getting the buzz from the crowd – it made me think there is no way we are leaving here losing, we can’t,” Adio adds with a smile.

“They helped us through. For example if I get a penalty but I hear the crowd cheering it makes me want to keep going. 

“When the crowd is behind you – it’s amazing, and they were amazing today.”