VNSL Round 5: Loughborough Lightning v London Pulse
Article written by Emily Marshall
After a much-improved performance by the Pulse squad, they narrowly missed out on victory against a determined Loughborough Lightning side in a thrilling contest that concluded in a 52-40 win for Loughborough.
An impressive start by Pulse kept Lightning dogged down, with extensive defensive pressures all down court. Ellie Rattu earned her first starting seven position with the Centre bib and did not disappoint, working tirelessly with Adio, Everitt and Fadjou to turn over ball which the attackers made good use of.
Halimat Adio matched up to Mary Cholhok brilliantly, doing a mountain of work in partnership with Everitt at GD to confuse space and challenge for every ball.
The first quarter ended 11-10 to Pulse after a clinical start by defence and Sigi Burger looking confident in the attacking end with Kira Rothwell.
Going into the second quarter, defence continued to cause issues for Lightning, who often couldn’t find a way over the transverse line and into the circle. Sara Bayman rang in the changes, and 20 minutes into the game after a run of goals they took the lead for the first time, despite Pulse causing problems in all areas of the court.
Loughborough then went into half-time leading by 4 goals (24-20), but Pulse didn’t stop there. Coming back out for the third quarter they got straight back onto task, defensively causing problems for Lightning and punishing them by cherishing turnovers.
The experienced Loughborough side however managed to find a way to maintain their lead on a day where they were being contested in every position.
The young attacking end for Pulse played with a heap of confidence and freedom despite great pressure from England star Beth Cobden at WD. University of Birmingham trio Ash Dekker, Rattu and Rothwell opened up space and the circle to feed Burger brilliantly.
They disrupted Lightning, and with a defensive change introducing Linsday Keable at GD, giving them something else to think about. Pulse’ defensive unit and flowing attacking end kept themselves in the game as Lightning tried to push on but were not able to gain much momentum, with the third quarter ending 36-29.
The fourth quarter saw a round of changes in the attacking end with Liv Tichine taking the GS bib, Rademan covering the WA role, and Dekker moving to C.
Tchine and Rothwell commanded the circle and Rademan had the vision to put the ball in early, however increased pressure from the Lightning defence got them turnover which they capitalised on.
Both teams finished with the same intensity, putting mountains of pressure on every pass, but ultimately Lightning used their experience to get themselves over the line, even when Pulse had challenged them through all four quarters.
The closely fought contest ended with head coach Sam Bird on her feet applauding her side, as they came out with an impressive performance which caused numerous problems for a team of Lightning’s calibre.
The start set the tone for the match, with interceptions from defence and a confident attack, Pulse has many positives to take forward into its clash against Celtic Dragons, in search of a first victory.
Coaches PoM was awarded jointly to Ash Dekker and Hali Adio