Bath Back in the Swim

Team Bath bounced back from their first defeat in nearly two years with a 62-42 victory at Leeds Carnegie.

The two teams met at Leeds Met University with different objectives which ensured a highly entertaining match, closely fought for three-quarters of the game.

TeamBath were in unfamiliar territory coming to the contest on the back of a defeat to Surrey Storm; their first loss in nearly 23 months, and aiming to maintain the pressure on the leaders at the top of the Co-operative Superleague.

Leeds were looking to build on their top-half credentials after some excellent but un-rewarded performances in recent games.

A familiar Leeds starting seven took to the court and it was a good battle against a less recognisable TeamBath side. Rosie Allison (GS) made the starting seven for the first time in Superleague with Lindsay Keable (GK) earning a second start.

It was a close opening with both sides having 16 attempts at goal in the first 15 minutes, the defending champions netting one more than Leeds at the quarter whistle.
Targets

The momentum flipped around at the end of the half as Leeds scored 10 from 13, Bath 10 from 14, but the visiting side's coach Jess Garland was keen for her squad to address certain issues on court; "we had specific targets after our match against Surrey," she said.

Carnegie chose to stay with the same seven throughout the match, and it is a side that are beginning to gel together. Various combinations were being tried and tested by Bath who saved the best till last.

The final quarter saw a change of gear from TeamBath, who had been given a thorough working out by Leeds, but in the final 15 minutes put together some immaculate and inspirational passages of play with exceptional understanding between the players, building up a 20-goal margin at the final whistle.

TeamBath coach Jess Garland admitted the game was just what her squad needed: "Leeds really tested us and kept with us for the first three quarters of the game," she said. "We're really pleased with some of the things we made improvements on.

"We are looking to have a more clinical performance against Glasgow on Friday night."

Leeds co-coach Marion Lofthouse thoroughly enjoyed the match: "What a fantastic game of netball!" she said. "Both teams exhibited great skill and commitment. Bath dominated the last quarter, showing the experience required to win the game. The Leeds players will learn from this match."

She also felt praise was also due to the match officials: "Both umpires allowed the players to contest the ball and this contributed to a great display of netball," Lofthouse added