ENGLAND has hit back in Sydney, winning Game 2 of their series by two goals over the Australian Diamonds, levelling the series after a disappointing showing in Adelaide.

A more physical contest was played out on Sunday afternoon, with England’s intent to atone for their Game 1 showing clear from the first centre pass. This win gave England their third-ever win on Australian soil.

From the outset, the Roses were without star shooter Eleanor Cardwell, who was injured in Adelaide, however Olivia Tchine continued to feature in her stead. The goaling end only managed to win one quarter, however that was enough to storm home in the final portion of the match.

The combination of Tchine (32 from 34) and Helen Housby (29 from 33) was a confident one, making the most of their side’s 10 gains and four intercepts.

Despite the exploits of the attackers, it was defender Funmi Fadoju that was named the Player of the Match. She had a fantastic game amounting in eight gains, 12 deflections and two intercepts.

The starting line-ups for the teams was a point of contention, with Jamie-Lee Price, Paige Hadley and Sophie Garbin replaced by Amy Parmenter, Kate Moloney and Cara Koenen respectively.

For England, Cardwell was out for Tchine, while Game 1 performances from Lois Pearson and Funmi Fadoju cemented their spots ahead of Hannah Joseph and Razia Quashie.

Although Koenen (16/19 goals) returned to the starting line-up in place of the ever-impressive performer from Game 1 in Garbin. However with just four goals from seven attempts in the opening ten minutes, she was eventually benched at half-time.

To half-time it was the work of the Roses’ defenders that was imperative to them staying with the Diamonds. They had seven gains to the three at half-time, which grew to 10 to six in their favour at full-time.

England’s defenders also managed to limit the scoring of the Diamonds attack end. For the whole first match in Adelaide, the unit missed only four goals for the game, while in Sydney, the Diamonds missed four goals in just the first quarter.

Another feature was their accuracy at goals, with England shooting 28 from 31 at the main break, whereas the Australians shot 29 from 35.

For Stacey Marinkovich, it was the changes coming into the third quarter which were telling. Matilda Garrett was brought on for Sunday Aryang who shifted forward to Wing Defence with Parmenter playing no further part in the contest.

England stayed unchanged for the third quarter as Jess Thirlby was happy with their game up to that point.

With three minutes left in the third quarter, the newest Diamond Rudi Ellis got her second cap and a chance to impose herself with Tchine continuing to have an influence on the game. Sarah Klau was brought off but was subbed back on later in the fourth quarter for the remaining nine minutes.

Ellis and Garrett combined for the first time at international level, they were effective enough against the shooters, conceding only eight penalties in the game.

Rose Beth Cobden came off for Amy Carter at the same time.

With twelve minutes to go, Garbin levelled her scoring with Austin (19/22) after coming on at half-time. Garbin’s influence on both games this series has been profound, she finished the game missing one shot with 24 from 25 from only a half.

In the end, England scored seven of the last 10 goals to win the match, powering home benefiting from the ability to win the ball back and the transition from their midcourters.

AUSTRALIA       13 | 16 | 16 | 14 (59)
ENGLAND         13 | 14 | 16 | 18 (61)

STARTING SEVENS

Australia

GS: Cara Koenen
GA: Kiera Austin
WA: Liz Watson
C: Kate Moloney
WD: Amy Parmenter
GD: Sunday Aryang
GK: Sarah Klau

England

GS: Liv Tchine
GA: Helen Housby
WA: Lois Pearson
C: Imogen Allison
WD: Beth Cobden
GD: Funmi Fadoju
GK: Fran Williams