Mvula’s Thunder remain unbeaten in UK League
UK-based netball star Joyce Mvula’s team Manchester Thunder maintained a 100 percent record after beating her compatriot Towera Vinkhumbo-Nyirenda’s team Strathclyde Sirens 73-51 in the Vitality Super League.
The victory, which was followed by another thrashing win 80-50 over Surrey Storm to complete a remarkable double header and a guaranteed semi-final spot, according to BBC.
Manchester Thunder lead the 11-team league with 42 points from 14 games while Strathclyde Sirens lie 12th on the log table with 12 points from 12 games, winning four and losing the rest.
Manchester Thunder continued their prolific form and guaranteed a spot in the Super League semi-finals on a fascinating double-header weekend.
London Pulse edged a tight encounter with Saracens Mavericks in a decisive game for a semi-final place.
While Team Bath missed the opportunity to earn their fourth consecutive win with defeat by Leeds Rhinos.
Surrey Storm fell to back-to-back defeats as the top-four battle rolls on.
Manchester Thunder continued their destructive form – crushing Strathclyde Sirens 73-51 before steamrolling Surrey Storm, scoring a record 80 goals to Storm’s 50.
Loughborough Lightning closed out two tight games to keep the pressure on Thunder in second, a 57-54 win over Storm and a 56-52 victory over Celtic Dragons, who had finally earned some deserved points on Saturday to back up their consistently improving performances with a 55-51 victory over Leeds Rhinos.
Having won their respective round-13 matches against Wasps and Severn Stars, Pulse and Mavericks played out a tight encounter, but a patient third-quarter performance from Pulse extended their lead and gave them the chance to ultimately pull away in the final period to win.
Wasps, whose head coach Mel Mansfield announced this week that she will step away at the end of the season, lost both their games to Pulse as well as bottom-of-the-league Stars as their disappointing season continues.
With six rounds to go until the semi-finals on June 3 before the Grand Final two days later, stakes are high with very little to separate the potential top-four contenders.
Just as a place in the semi-finals seems to be heading one way, a poor performance or shock result pulls it in another direction.
Team Bath had looked to be back on track, recording three consecutive wins in their past three games, but missed out on the opportunity to consolidate, losing to a Rhinos side who they had never been beaten by and who had been defeated by second-from-bottom Dragons the day before.
Bath’s lack of consistency means they have dropped out of the top four for the time being along with Storm, who faced the toughest ask of the franchises in the double-header weekend with the top two sides, Thunder and Lightning, their opponents.
But with just nine points separating third and seventh place and a lack of consistency among many of the sides, it is still all to play for.
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