Severn Stars Will Need to be at Their Best Against League Leaders, says Coach

Severn Stars are looking to bounce back from defeat at the weekend, but know that they will have to be at their best to win their rematch against Manchester Thunder, says the team's Head Coach.

After facing the Netball Super League reigning champions last weekend, who currently sit in second place, Severn Stars now face the League leaders.

But Head Coach, Jo Trip, says the team is looking to maintain its top four standing and learn from previous matches when it takes on Thunder away at the Belle Vue Sports Village in Manchester at 7.30pm on Friday (April 19).

"The camp is positive as we look to the week ahead," she said. "We take the learnings and remind ourselves of the things we are good at in a tough training week before taking on Manchester Thunder. Maintaining possession and scoring off our turnover is critical to matching up with these top teams. We must work harder for longer to shift the ball and open up their defence and we must work the ball safely down the court.

"We know we will have to be at our best on Friday and are excited to be training this week. We will bounce back from this loss as we look to put our stamp on our position in the top four."

Thunder, who have only had one loss all season, defeated Stars in the first home leg 50-65 at the University of Worcester Arena back in March. However, Stars, a franchise owned by the University of Worcester, will be buoyed by the manner of their performance last weekend. A near sell-out crowd turned out to cheer on Stars at the University of Worcester Arena against Loughborough Lightning, which ultimately ended in defeat, 52-68.

Lightning took an early lead and though Stars managed to draw level, the away side quickly had the advantage again. Thanks to an interception, Lightning extended their lead to 6-10 at one stage, but by the end of the first quarter Stars had reduced that to three, 13-16. Three quick goals in succession to open the second quarter saw Stars back level, but Lightning responded quickly with a flurry of goals to take back the lead 20-24. Stars were able to bring themselves back to within two goals, but that was how it remained at the half-time interval, 30-32, with it all to play for.

Within minutes of opening the second half, Stars found themselves down by five goals. Though Stars' Jas Brown got the rebound from a Lightning shot, the away team managed to intercept this scoring chance in the Stars shooting circle. Then a call for contact against Stars shooter Sigi Burger saw Lightning gain the ball back. Thanks to consistent shooting from the Stars pairing of Burger and Suzie Liverseidge, the team were able to keep in touching distance, but as the quarter continued Lightning started to widen the gap, in front 40-52. In the final 15 minutes Stars' defence was impressive, with Trip and Brown both getting tips on the ball to regain possession, but Lightning pulled away further as time ran out.

Despite the loss, Trip highlighted the positives from the game. "Another nearly sold-out crowd at home is always a pleasure to perform in front of," she said. "A fantastic first half saw us neck and neck with the reigning champions Loughborough Lightning," she said. "Our second quarter saw us with a very low error rate and therefore able to take the quarter off Lightning. In the last half, some untidy errors saw the game quickly get away from us within a six-minute period and then we were chasing a scoreline which we never recovered from."

For tickets to the next home game, against London Pulse on Friday April 26, or for more information, visit the Severn Stars website: https://www.severnstars.co.uk/.