England FINALLY beat Australia on the 14th call as The Roses secured a dramatic one-point victory over The Diamonds in the World Cup clash
- England dramatically defeated Australia on Thursday evening
- The Roses made up an eight-point deficit to win by one point
- It is the first time they have defeated The Diamonds in 14 attempts
England have pulled off a 56-55 drought-induced victory over Australia to send the Diamonds crashing to their first defeat of the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town.
It was England’s first win over Australia in the tournament in 14 tries, with the Roses, six behind at half time, recovering from conceding eight goals in the third quarter.
Shooter Eleanor Cardwell hit the go-ahead target with 47 seconds left and the Roses pounced on a wayward pass from the Diamonds’ Kiera Austin to regain possession with 23 seconds left and hold it for the remainder of the match.
England led by five early on and beat the Diamonds in three of the four quarters.
Massive pressure at the start and end of the game, aided by nervous firing from Super Netball stars Cardwell and Helen Housby, were big factors in their victory.
England have beaten Australia for the first time in 14 attempts at the World Cup
The Roses made up an eight-point deficit on Thursday and won dramatically on Thursday
Thunderbirds title winner Cardwell made 34 of her 35 shots, while Swift’s superstar and player of the match Housby landed all 22 of her tries, as well as a team-leading 12 assists.
Cara Koenen was a reliable target for Australia with 32 from 34 tries, with Steph Wood making 19 from 22 and Austin four from five.
The result meant England top the group and critical mistakes in the last two quarters proved costly to Australia, who are likely to play Jamaica or New Zealand in the semi-finals.
“We had a really good second quarter to get that lead, but it was just silly mistakes in that third quarter that let them run back and make the game really close,” Diamonds captain and wing forward Liz Watson told Fox Sports.
“They were stronger, they wanted it more, so (it was) a disappointing finish.”
Australia trailed 13–8 just over four minutes into the half, but the introduction of goalkeeper Sarah Klau for Courtney Bruce put the Diamonds to work, who were up to two at half time.
Klau made a big interception before Wood converted at the other end to put Australia ahead for the first time, 20-19, almost seven minutes into the second quarter.
Handcuffed, Australia moved the ball faster and smoother, with goal strike Wood and Watson prominent in the wave that gave the Diamonds a 32-26 halftime lead.
England coach Jess Thirlby made as many as 22 changes during the game, and the post-half introduction of midcourt veterans Jade Clarke and Chelsea Pitman added spice to the Roses, who were leading 42–34 at one point in the third quarter. were behind.
Both England and Australia are through to the semi-finals of the competition
The Roses benefited from a pair of unforced errors, and seven goals in a row took them within one heading into the final quarter, which saw them outscore Australia 12–10.
“I don’t think we’ve beaten Australia in a major championship for a long time, it was 2018 (in the Commonwealth Games gold medal match) probably the last final,” Housby told Fox Sports.
“I’m really proud of the calm we had.”