Strathclyde Sirens 46, Celtic Dragons 50

Celtic Dragons endured a torrid time in Glasgow, but battled to a close fought Vitality Netball Superleague victory.

Captain Nia Jones and her team won the second, third and final quarters to earn a 50-46 against Strathclyde Sirens in Scotland.

“It was a torrid match and could have gone either way,” said Dragons’ head coach Tania Hoffman.

“But I’m pleased that the girls hung on in there and picked up intercepts when we really needed them.

“Again, we just need to hold onto the ball for a little bit longer. We must stick to our game plan and what works for us.”

Dragons won a desperately close match, hitting back from two goals down after the first 15 minutes and clawing their way back by winning the next three quarters 11-10, 14-12, 13-10.

Their next Superleague test is against Wasps at the Sport Wales National Centre in Cardiff on Monday, February 18 and Hoffman said: “We have a few trainings this week and it’s really about looking at what Wasps bring to the table and how we can counter that.

“We also have to work on the things we need to fix.”

It was a fast and furious, physical clash in which the winner was decided on the fine margins of successful feeds into the circle.

Quarter scores (Sirens first): 14-12; 10-11 (24-23); 12-14 (36-37); 10-13 (46-50).

Celtic Dragons: GS Chelsea Lewis, GA Kalifa McCollin, WA Suzy Drane, C Kyra Jones, WD Nia Jones (capt), GD Dee Bolakoro, GK Stacian Facey. Reps: Lucy Howells, Lucy Herdman, Abby Tyrrell, Clare Elsey, Eleanor Roberts.

Strathclyde Sirens: GS C Tuivati, GA L Gallagher, WA N McCleary, C C Maxwell, WD G Abernethy, GD E Nicholl and GK E Gibbons. Reps: K Boyle, R Edgar, B Goodwin, N McCall and H Mulheron.

LEAGUE TABLE

Pos	Team	P	Pts
1	Wasps Netball	3	9
2	Manchester Thunder	3	9
3	Saracens Mavericks	4	9
4	Team Bath	3	6
5	Celtic Dragons	5	6
6	Loughborough Lightning	4	6
7	Severn Stars	3	3
8	Strathclyde Sirens	5	3
9	London Pulse	4	3
10	Surrey Storm	4	3