Singapore crush Caribbean favourites in 5 Nations Cup

NETBALL

5 Nations Netball Cup
Singapore vs Trinidad & Tobago
Thursday, 7 September 2007 at the Toa Payoh Sports Hall
Pictures by Leslie Tan. © Red Sports/soulbreath pictures

Story by Lorna Campbell

Singapore wowed the fans at Toa Payoh sports hall tonight when they overcame a strong Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) team to claim their third victory in the 5 Nations Netball Cup 55-40. In the opening match Sri Lanka edged out Northern Ireland in an end to end encounter 55-50.

Vanessa Lee of Singapore beats out Natalie Pierre of Trinidad & Tobago to the ball. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

"This was a great team performance by Singapore and we matched up to Trinidad and Tobago in every area tonight" said Coach Kate Carpenter at the end of a top-class match.

"We now have to focus on our next game against Sri Lanka. We have earned our spot against T&T in the finals on Saturday and that will be a different match. We will need to put in our best performance on that day if we are to come out on top again."

Janelle Barker pulls down a pass despite the attention of Singapore’s Premila Hirubalan. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Just one point separating them after the first quarter, Singapore had to work hard for a three point cushion at the break. Li Ling moved quickly around T&T's athletic defence to create space and she took her shots from every angle, ably assisted by Chen Huifen in goal attack.

Great linking moves from Vanessa Lee and Charlene Porima across the court gave the team confidence and they eased ahead to a comfortable cushion of 43-28 in the third and kept the momentum until the final whistle.

Chen Huifen of Singapore (in red) scored 32 goals for a shooting percentage of 91%. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

The 1000 strong crowd that came to cheer them on created a carnival atmosphere any Caribbean nation would be proud of and T&T just couldn't match the form and flow of the home side.

Earlier in the evening Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka could not have been more evenly match and it was all down to the composure of the girls in the circle. Noleen Lennon and Deborah McCarthy made the towering Sri Lankan shooters work for their points, while their own shooter Lisa Bowman stayed calm and continued to land her shots. However, as the only main shooting force in her side it was a battle to keep in contention as Sri Lanka answered every point.

Lisa Bowman of Northern Ireland (in green) competes for the ball with Kumarine Silva of Sri Lanka. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports

Northern Ireland started the second half ahead by one goal but this was to change several times in the remaining 30 minutes of play. Sri Lanka played a steady game controlled by Damayanthi Jayathilake in the centre position. With clinical passing and direct movement they dug deep and won by the narrowest of margins 55-50. Their second victory of the tournament places them in third position overall with an exciting match against Singapore awaiting them tomorrow. Canada will play Northern Ireland to determine who takes the last spot in Saturday's play-offs.

Sanduni Bollegala takes a pass from a teammate before Louse McKeown (WD) of Northern Ireland can intercept. © Leslie Tan/Red Sports