Netball Superleague 2019: Wasps suffer first defeat of season, Thunder win two in four days

It's been a bumper week of fixtures in the Netball Superleague, as we reach the halfway stage of the season.

As expected, Wasps and Manchester Thunder's postponed second-round tie was worth the wait.

The defending champions, so far unbeaten in 2019, hosted a wounded Thunder, who were desperate not to fall to a third defeat in four, and it showed.

The Black and Yellows simply blew Wasps away in the first half, storming into a 20-goal lead, fluid and ruthless in attack thanks to the experience and vision of Liana Leota at wing attack and tenacity of shooters Joyce Mvula and Kathryn Turner, and playing a high-line, suffocating defensive game.

Wasps regrouped and gradually clawed their way back into the game in the second half, but Thunder were in a stubborn mood and held on to win 55-64.

Saracens Mavericks continued their good form with a convincing 68-38 win away at Strathcylde Sirens, despite the absence of influential centre courter Gabby Marshall, who has suffered a recurrence of an ankle injury that sidelined her earlier in the season.

Loughborough Lightning look to have shaken off their indifferent start to the campaign and battled to a 70-57 victory over Celtic Dragons in Cardiff to stay in the top four.

And Manchester Thunder recorded their second win in four days, this time over Surrey Storm (66-42) at Belle Vue, leaving them level on points with Mavericks in the table.

London Pulse still have only one win this season after losing 64-60 to Team Bath in the final game of the round at the Copper Box on Monday. Pulse were 12 behind after the third quarter but produced a strong finish.

Wasps had three days to recover from that loss to Thunder before facing Severn Stars in their round 10 game.

The short turnaround showed as errors littered a lethargic-looking Wasps performance, and Stars, on the hunt for only their third win of the season, sensed an upset.

Wasps looked in control in the third quarter, sitting on an eight-goal lead, but Stars dug in and made sure there was only a consolidated turnover between the sides heading into the final period.

But Wasps fought off Stars' late challenge patiently and professionally, engineered by stalwart England centre-courter Jade Clarke, to avoid a second defeat on the bounce.

Until Monday, none of this week's Superleague games were broadcast on television, meaning fans had been forced to follow their teams on social media, refreshing feeds constantly for updates.

We've all been there, listening to the final minutes of a football match on a crackly BBC Radio 5 Live signal in the car or paying a fortune for 4G data on your phone to follow the BBC Sport live-text feed on holiday, because you just can't miss the match (and it's just like being there, anyway).

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Below is Manchester Thunder's U19 coach Jennifer Fields, who was following the side's win over Wasps on Twitter....

Wednesday, 6 March

Wasps 55-64 Manchester Thunder

Saturday, 9 March

Strathclyde Sirens 38-68 Saracens Mavericks

Celtic Dragons 57-70 Loughborough Lightning

Manchester Thunder 66-42 Surrey Storm

Sunday, 10 March

Wasps 54-47 Severn Stars

Monday, 11 March

London Pulse 60-64 Team Bath