Netball World Cup 2019: Scotland beat Barbados 53-42 to finish 11th

Scotland ended a disappointing Netball World Cup campaign with an 11th-place play-off win over Barbados.

The Thistles, who had been targeting a top-eight spot, won a physical contest 53-42 in Liverpool.

Gail Parata's team led from the start and opened a 29-22 halfway lead.

Barbados rallied to reduce the deficit to three points in the third quarter and again in the final quarter but the Scots kept cool heads to close out their second victory of the tournament.

Vice-captain Lynsey Gallagher scored 27 goals from 28 attempts.

The Scots went into the competition ranked seventh but could only manage a marginal improvement on their 12th-place finish at the last World Cup four years ago.

Following a convincing opening win over Samoa, Parata's side suffered four successive defeats, ending any hope of reaching the top stage of the competition, before a draw with Trinidad and Tobago cost them a top-10 place.

"We've got nine players in our squad who are at a World Cup for the first time. We're the second youngest side here," said head coach Perata.

"With these young players, I really believe we are going places."

Gallagher echoed those sentiments, telling BBC Sport: "Over the duration of the competition, we have really come on. We put in performances we can be proud of against some of the best teams in the world.

"Yes, we didn't get into the top eight, which was our target, but it's a good platform to build on.

"We've closed the gap on those top teams and there's much more to come from the Scottish Thistles."

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