Sirens lose to Rhinos to end hopes of win double

Following Saturday’s victory against London Pulse, Strathclyde Sirens failed to make it a double in the Vitality Superleague, going down 51-69 defeat to Leeds Rhinos.

Young gun Rachel Conway made her debut in Sirens starting 7 to look after the GK position as Towera Vinkhumbo had to sit out due to injury.

Sirens took some time to settle and Rhinos led 13-17 at the end of quarter one. In the second quarter, Rhinos charged forward, with Donnell Wallam slotting in goals for the opposition at ease. Defensively, Sirens struggled to slow the Rhinos attack and a string of errors meant that the Scottish side could not close the gap, with Rhinos leading 35-26 heading into the second half.

Rhinos continued to dominate in quarter three, with Keenan regularly interrupting Sirens attack with intercepts at crucial points of play.

Vinkhumbo made an appearance at GK, albeit with her injured knee bandaged, in an attempt to disrupt Wallam’s flow at the post. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for Sirens who headed into the final quarter 38-56.

Dix made the move to C, and Goodwin took to court at GS. Mccleery, Mccall and Goodwin settled into their partnership at the circle edge, which saw some clean passages of play as Sirens tried to close the 20-goal gap. In the end, though, Sirens suffered a 51-69 defeat, with Rhinos Brie Grierson winning player of the match.

Karen Atkinson, the club’s technical director, said: “Despite not having Towera at the back, we competed really well at times. We’ve got the potential to take it to the top teams, but we’re just not consistent enough.”