IT was quite the memorable first day of Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL) for Round 3, as Saracens Mavericks and Leeds Rhinos both came away with two-goal wins. The Mavericks defeated London Pulse 53-51, whilst the Rhinos toppled the Strathclyde Sirens. Here are how the two games went down.

In a nail-bitting match, London Pulse fell two goals short of a massive comeback against a red-hot Saracens Mavericks in the first Friday night clash. The Mavericks burst out of the blocks to pile on 16 goals to eight, and while the Pulse reduced the half-time deficit to seven, the Mavericks were soon to get back on the top. In front of a home crowd, they piled on 18 goals to 12 in the third to move up to what looked like an unassailable lead of 13 goals at the final break. Little did they know, the Pulse had one last huge 15 minutes in them, as they poured on 19 goals to eight to come agonisingly close, only to fall two goals short of victory, 51-53.

Full credit has to go to the Mavericks who built a strong enough lead to hold off the comeback, lead by Kadeen Corbin who picked up her second Player of the Match award for the season. She had 10 goals from 12 attempts, and picked up an offensive rebound, had 11 feeds and three deflections in an impressive all-round effort. Sister Sasha Corbin had the 15 feeds and two deflections, while Ine-Mari Venter continued her high-volume shooting with 43 goals from 49 attempts. In defence, Razia Quashie starred with six turnovers, four intercepts and three deflections.

For the Pulse, Sacha McDonald came in and scored seven goals at 100 per cent accuracy, supporting Olivia Tchine (42 goals from 45 attempts), with 12 feeds. Kira Rothwell had 11 feeds and a rebound in that front third, whilst Funmi Fadoju continued her high level of deflections with another four in the narrow defeat. She teamed up well with Zara Everitt (two intercepts, two deflections) in the defensive goal circle.

Though not exactly a sequel to the earlier game, the second VNSL match on Friday night was every bit as good as the original, with Leeds Rhinos coming away with an identical two-goal win. Their victory came agains a determined Strathclyde Sirens, with the Glasgow-based side entering the match at 1-1, whilst the Rhinos were yet to play. The Sirens started off strongly leading by two goals at quarter time, but that result flipped when the Rhinos scored 14-10 in the second term. The visitors built on that lead at Emirates Arena with a 13-8 term to blow the final break lead out to seven. Determined not to let the match slip away, the Sirens raced home full of momentum, piling on 13 goals to eight of their own, but just fell short as Leeds won 45-43.

Former Celtic Dragons shooter Amy Clinton made her debut for the Rhinos and scored 32 goals from 37 attempts, will supported by Brie Tyler Grierson (nine goals from 12 attempts, and 19 feeds). With the experienced Jade Clarke racking up 28 feeds, four turnovers and two intercepts, it was hard to match, whilst Vicki Oyesola and Tuaine Keenan were phenomenal in defence. The pair combined for a whopping 23 turnovers, eight deflections, six intercepts and four defensive rebounds in what was a combined team defensive effort.

For the Sirens, the shooting combination of Niamh McCall (23 goals from 28 attempts) and Bethan Goodwin (20 from 24) did all they could considering, with Gia Abernethy using her experience to try and match it with Clarke, and having a match-high 31 feeds. Towera Vinkhumbo and Emily Nicholl had an equal impact up the other end to their opposite defenders, combining for 22 turnovers, eight deflections seven intercepts and four rebounds. Taylor McKevitt also continued her good form with four turnovers two deflections and an intercept.

Three more VNSL matches take place overnight, with Manchester Thunder up against Surrey Storm, Loughborough Lightning locking horns with Celtic Dragons, and Wasps Netball facing Severn Stars.