It was a big weekend of semi-finals action in the Vitality Netball Superleague, with the two most reliable teams of 2019 winning their respective matches and bound for the grand final this week. Wasps Netball gave Loughborough Lightning a second half shock, beating the side by 20 goals after only being up by three at half-time. Manchester Thunder managed a three-goal win under pressure from Team Bath in Kerry Almond’s final home game for her career.

The Wasps are through to their third consecutive VNSL final this week after a 41 goal to 24 second half saw the Lightning struggle under pressure from the reigning premiers. The Wasps stuck to their starting seven for the entire match, pushing through early patches of discomfort courtesy of Lightning’s midcourt work ethic to come away with the solid win. The likes of Fran Williams and Amy Flanagan were on fire for Wasps, defending the goal third with speed and skill, denying entry to the goal circle and putting the pressure on Lightning shooters, Mary Cholhok and Ella Clark. The shooting pair were at their usual standard at the post, however were pressured at every pass and denied possession time and time again. Their predictable play was too easy for the Wasps to read, proving their defensive read of play with intercepts and deflections alike. Lightning’s Nat Panagarry put her footwork and clever movement on show to weave through defence, however was blocked from making space at every move, forced to pass backwards. In attack for Wasps, Bongi Msomi was unstoppable credit to her speed off the mark and ability to put herself on circle edge to feed the ball into the shooters. Jade Clarke was solid as ever in centre, moving fluidly through the court as she provided a strong option transitioning from defence to attack. Rachel Dunn and Katie Harris did a wealth of work inside the goal circle courtesy of feeds from Msomi, putting up the volume and accuracy required for a big win. The loss of Cholhok early in the final quarter all but spelled defeat for Lightning, struggling to put ball to post in a 10 goal to 21 quarter to finish off the season.

Team Bath put in the hard yards to ruin Thunder’s finals chances, however could not do enough against the defensive onslaught of the home side, going down by three goals as the Thunder prevailed. With both sides heavily reliant on the form of their defensive unit it was always set to be a fairly even matchup, however finals pressure saw both sides battle hard all game, flying through to receive every loose ball and create opportunities forward. The likes of Serena Guthrie and Imogen Allison were pivotal through the midcourt and defensive third, forcing turnovers and creating opportunities for Bath’s Rachel Shaw in the centre third, while their defensive unit denied the ball entry to the Thunder goal circle. The phenomenal defensive duos of Bath’s Eboni Usoro-Brown and Summer Artman and Thunder’s Emma Dovey and Kerry Almond (in potentially her final match before retirement) were key in this matchup, living up to their season form with an exceptional display across the board from both sides. In attack for Thunder, the likes of Liana Leota and player of the match, Joyce Mvula paired seamlessly, almost having the ball on a string despite Bath’s defensive efforts. At the other end, the skilful movement of Sophie Drakeford-Lewis and Kim Commane saw the pair have no shortage of ball, finishing strong with a 15 goal to 13 final quarter, however it was Bath’s wastefulness with possession in the late stages of the match that cost them a win.