Relief palpable for Ferns
What a win, and what a relief.
The Silver Ferns have finally cleared the clouds of doom and gloom that engulfed their nightmare season by upsetting the form book with a stunning 55-44 victory over Australia in Hamilton yesterday.
Ending their nine-match losing streak against the Diamonds was achieved in some style and there is still an outside chance New Zealand could capture the Constellation Cup for the first time since 2012, providing they can win by at least 14 goals in the final game of the fourmatch series, in Wellington on Thursday.
Coach Noeline Taurua, who took on the role in August following an awful Commonwealth Games, feels there is more to come but shooting down Australia lifts an almighty weight off the shoulders of a team that was on the brink of its worst losing streak (10 set from 1995-98) against their old foes.
‘‘There were some areas we improved from last week in Townsville but, hey, a win is always good for us and for the soul and it’s a good start,’’ Taurua said.
New Zealand again started with an unchanged starting seven after defeats in Brisbane and Townsville meant Australia were leading the series 2-0, but trusting those players paid off as Hamilton roared on the Silver Ferns.
New Zealand’s goal shooter Maria Folau was on fire, shooting at 98 per cent (40/41), but a collective and cohesive effort seemed to startle Australia, who fell behind in the second quarter and never managed to catch up.
‘‘Maria, and the interchange between her and [goal attack] Te Paea [Selby-Rickit], provided us an attacking level and we only saw the strength of that in the last quarter,’’ Taurua said.
‘‘Also, we only turned over the ball 28 times, but there is room for improvement and there are little steps to make. It’s looking better.’’
The Silver Ferns are back in the series, trailing 2-1, after an occasion in Hamilton that might spark a revival towards next year’s World Cup in July in Liverpool, England.
The comforts of home, and a
(Maria Folau 40/41, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 15/22) Australia 44 (Caitlin Bassett 20/23, Gretel Tippett 16/17 Caitlin Thwaites 5/7, Steph Wood 3/6).
New Zealand 55
staunch support inside Hamilton’s Claudelands Arena, was certainly a boost for New Zealand, especially for captain Laura Langman, who was back in black in her hometown.
‘‘It’s really nice and there is no place like home to [win again]. I think the fans enjoyed it as much as we did,’’ Langman said.
‘‘But, ultimately for us, it reinforces the work that we’re putting in and that we’re on the right track.’’
This season will go down as a black mark in Silver Ferns history after that calamitous Commonwealth Games campaign, as well as a first defeat to Malawi and three losses against Jamaica, which led to former coach Janine Southby losing her job.
But, at last, there is light at the end of the tunnel and the Silver Ferns can finish a desperately disappointing year on a high.
‘‘I can see the areas where we need to be better but it’s very promising for us knowing we’ve got the World Cup [coming up],’’ Taurua said.
‘‘We are moving in the right direction and we are progressing, with some substance in our methods that we are putting out there.’’
1Q: 14-13, HT: 30-26, 3Q: 41-36