Netball: Singapore beat Republic of Ireland 42–31 for opening Nations Cup win

By Lorna Campbell

Aqilah Andin of Singapore in action against the Republic of Ireland. Singapore won the opening game of the Nations Cup 42–31. (Photo 1 courtesy of Netball Singapore)

Toa Payoh Sports Hall, Sunday, December 1, 2013 – In front of a roaring crowd, hosts Singapore opened proceedings for the 8th Nations Cup with a 42–31 win over the Republic of Ireland, who are making their second appearance in the competition following a sixth-place finish in 2012.

The team in green have improved markedly from their last outing and they pushed Singapore all the way with an opening quarter score of nine goals apiece. Singapore settled down in the second and third quarters and played their familiar fast and flat style of game.

Making her first appearance for Singapore in the Nations Cup, Goal Defence Olivia Flanagan had a stand-out performance and produced a high rate of turnovers, pushing play back into their attacking half and upsetting Ireland’s rhythm.

A half-time score of 22–15 gave Singapore a slight cushion but they had to keep the work rate high against an Irish side that play a similar style and were aggressive and eager.

Singapore managed to make use of all their shooters during the four quarters after Chen Huifen and Cassandra Soh gave them the edge. Yu Meiling came on for the second half and recorded a 100 percent shooting average from her 11 attempts.

Speaking after their opening victory, co-vice captain for Singapore, Nurul Baizura, was very happy with the performance saying. “Both teams were flustered at the start with some nerves but we settled down, kept things simple and delivered our game plan. Everyone did very well, coped with the pressure of being at home and it was a very good opening for us. Hopefully coach Ruth Aitken was happy with us and her first home win.”

Singapore coach, Ruth Aitken, was making her debut as the national coach on home soil and was certainly pleased with the team’s strength and commitment. She said: “It was wonderful playing in front of a home crowd but with that comes a bit of responsibility and I think there were a lot of nerves out there today. They really wanted to do well and in attack we found it hard to relax but we were outstanding in defence. Credit goes to Ireland who contested really well throughout the match.

“This time last year I was watching from the stands and now I feel so much part of the team and I am really pleased that we have delivered win one but we have a long way to go. It is how we recover now and get on tomorrow.”

The final match of the day was unusual for the tournament as it was a friendly game between Nation Cup debutants United States of America (USA) and Singapore ‘A’ after Uganda failed to arrive in time for their opening match. As a result, USA takes the two points today for a win and Uganda forfeits the match and start their campaign against the Republic of Ireland.

The Singapore ‘A’ side was made up of the remaining Open squad players and members of the 21-and-Under team. All the girls have been training hard and supporting the Singapore team in their preparations for Nations Cup so they were ready for the challenge of taking on the 19th ranked side in the world. They had nothing to lose and played their hearts out to lead 15–13 after the first quarter.

The USA were feeling confident when they touched down in Singapore but were unsettled by their Asian opponents and the differing style of play. They slowly settled in the second quarter and took the half 31–21 but were made to work hard for their goals.

The USA advantage was stretched to 14 points by end of the third half but some grit and determination by the home side saw them close out strongly with a fantastic performance in the final quarter to win it impressively (19–8). Only three goals separated the two sides with the USA winning 53–50.

Co-captain for Singapore ‘A’ Jocelyn Ng was delighted with the performance. She said: “I felt that was really amazing to come back from such a margin to lose by only three goals. I am really proud of the team. We really didn’t expect to get this opportunity and we are thankful for that.”

USA Captain Annette Payne said: “That was a tough game but it has helped us to prepare for what lies ahead. We tried out players in many different positions to see how things would work and with patience and experience we got our win at the end of the day.”

Scoring Stats for Singapore
Cassandra Soh: 8/11 (73%)
Chen Huifen: 18/25 (72%)
Yu Meiling: 11/11 (100%)
Charmaine Soh: 5/9 (56%)