Sunshine girls cast shadow on NZ's Games mission

NZPA ©

Jamaica has joined England as a genuine threat to netball's traditional powerbases at next year's Commonwealth Games by stunning the Silver Ferns 53-50 in Kingston today.

The winners capped a glorious week to celebrate the sport's 50th anniversary in Jamaica, notching just their second win over the Silver Ferns in 44 attempts.

And it comes just four days after completing an equally rare one-goal victory over world champion Australia.

The world No 4 Sunshine Girls shared both series , an ominous development that suggests the gold medal match in India next October will not automatically be a trans-Tasman affair.

Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken, who also watched her side require extra time to deny England on this trip, admitted a bridging of the gap was a concern 12 months out from New Zealand's title defence.

"The reality is we need to prepare for three different styles going into Commonwealth Games -- England, Jamaica and Australia.

"It's not just about Australia any more," she told NZPA.

"There's a lot more work for us to do on our defensive strategies. You get someone like Romelda (Aiken) one day then a moving circle with (Australians) Sharelle (McMahon) and Susan Pratley."

Jamaica's compelling second quarter propelled the game beyond the Silver Ferns' reach as they outscored to world No 2 13-5 -- confining shooters Irene van Dyl and Maria Tutaia to just six attempts.

"We lost our drive on attack, they tightened up (defensively), we made a few errors and suddenly we're looking at only six attempts in that quarter -- we can't win games on that," Aitken said.

"We lost a bit of our courage and our willingness to work off the ball. Jamaica really upped the pressure and we got distracted, we didn't stick to our structure."

Aitken said different umpiring interpretations -- the local official gave the Jamaican circle defenders more leeway -- knocked New Zealand off kilter though it was not an excuse.

The Silver Ferns started impressively, skipping out to a six-goal lead midway through the opening stanza at the National Indoor Stadium.

But precise shooting from Aiken and Simone Forbes trimmed New Zealand's lead to 14-16 at the first break.

Jamaica then wrestled the initiative by ruling the 15-minute period to halftime -- clogging the supply lines to van Dyk as the Silver Ferns' passing accuracy deteriorated.

Van Dyk shot a perfect 16 from 16 to the main break but the Jamaican duo had the luxury of making nine more attempts -- an imbalance that engineered a 27-21 advantage for the hosts.

Four glaring van Dyk misses in the third quarter and concerns over the Jamaican umpire when she controlled New Zealand's shooting end prompted Aitken to pull her ace shooter (19/23) for the more mobile Paula Griffin in a bid to erase a four-goal deficit on the home stretch.

Griffin goaled nine from 11 but her combination with Maria Tutaia (22/26) could only trim the margin by one before the Jamaicans jumped for joy.

It is Jamaica's first success against the Silver Ferns since a 53-44 victory, also at Kingston, in 2002 and avenged a 56-61 loss on Wednesday.

Given the two nations usually meet at the semifinal stage of the Commonwealth Games, Jamaica could also claim a psychological victory ahead of a possible rematch.

The loss also leaves New Zealand with an unflattering five-win six-loss record for a season which also included series losses to Australia and a World selection.

New Zealand head home tomorrow and have a two-week break before returning to the gym for a pre-Christmas conditioning phase ahead of a 10-day camp in January.

The test schedule before the Commonwealth Games is yet to be finalised.

Regardless of the eventual opponents, Aitken said the players and management had "plenty of work to do".