Micky Lin of Singapore defends against Samoa. (Photo: Murray Wilkinson/NWC2015 Media)
Sydney, Tuesday, August 11, 2015 — Singapore were tied 33-33 with world number 13 Samoa in the third quarter only to lose 39-46 eventually at the 2015 Netball World Cup (NWC).
Singapore qualified for the 9th to 16th position playoffs after having lost 31-75 to Malawi in their last Pool C game which left them third in the first-round group. Singapore are now in Pool G with Trinidad and Tobago (world #9), Samoa, and Zambia (world #20).
Singapore beat Sri Lanka in their opening preliminary game and lost to South Africa in their second.
This is Samoa’s first win at NWC after they suffered three defeats in the preliminary round against Jamaica, England and Scotland.
Both Samoa and Singapore have had some knowledge of each other, having recently played each other at the 2014 Netball Nations Cup less than a year ago. Singapore had lost to Samoa on both occasions – 47-53 in the round games and then 41-50 in the final.
Singapore played a patient game in the first quarter and did not let Samoa dictate the game. Singapore trailed only by one goal (9–10) at the end of the first quarter.
Samoa turned up the heat in the second quarter, placing pressure on Singapore’s attackers. Singapore found it harder to get past the strong Samoa players, and when they did get the ball to the goal circle, the shooters, who had to withstand the physical play, failed to convert some of their shots.
Samoa capitalised on Singapore’s mistakes and led by seven goals at a point. However, Singapore’s defenders – Premila Hirubalan, Olivia Flanagan and Micky Lin – continued to work their magic on the Samoa shooting end and trailed by four (17-21) at half time.
Flanagan came in as Wing Defence and added fresh legs to the team and Singapore came out firing in third quarter. Singapore netted three goals within two minutes to reduce the gap to just one goal and six minutes into the game, Singapore led by a goal with the shooting duo of Yu Mei Ling and Charmaine Soh finding their rhythm again.
Singapore won the quarter 16-12 and the match was tied at 33-33 at the end of the third quarter.
It was an intense fourth quarter with both teams playing their hearts out. However, it was Samoa who stood up when it mattered and played a superb quarter, winning the match 46-39 and securing their first win of the event.
Captain Micky Lin was disappointed with the result.
“The breakdown happened in the fourth quarter where we gave away some cheap intercepts and easy turnovers to them. All these balls are very costly to us and we will need to tidy up at this level of the game. We had good three quarters but a disappointing fouth. I thought Samoa were a bit more resilient and had more composure than us towards the end of the game, which is the reason why they took the game.”
“This would probably be one of the better performances we had (through the competition). The pressure on our shooters is very high in this particular game. I thought we played a lot better than the final at the Nations Cup last year so there is some good to take away but it was disappointing as well because we were so close. I almost thought we could win it,” added Lin.
Ruth Aitken, the Singapore head coach, was equally disappointed.
“The changes that Samoa made in the last quarter really worked in their favour and defensively they tightened in our shooting area and we struggled to get that clear ball into our shooters. It was a huge fight back into the third quarter for our girls and then Samoa did the same. It was their greater exposure that came through for Samoa. It was disappointing that the score got away in the last quarter,” said Aitken.
On how Singapore can improve to be competitive on the world stage, Aitken said, “We are working hard on our strength and conditioning but we got to put more time into it so we are stronger and fitter. We are the best in Asia as such but if we look at the world stage there is a lot more support and a lot more times that the other players go to the gym. At this stage, we go twice a week plus self-directed. I think that is one of the things that we need to look at to how we ensure we are physically prepared as well.”
“It’s a long tournament and tomorrow we have got another big game so it’s how we pick ourselves up. The girls will be disappointed today but we would need to take the positives and the learning and then we need to come out and perform. Hopefully we pick out some tactical things we can tweak and change. We just have to try and keep reinforcing the good stuff and tipping away the stuff that needs some work,” Aitken added.
Singapore will face a stronger opponent and go up against world no. 9, Trinidad and Tobago in their next game. Singapore last played and triumphed over a higher ranked Trinidad and Tobago back in 2007 in a surprise 55-40 win at the final of the Netball Nations Cup. Since then, Trinidad and Tobago has improved tremendously.
Singapore Starting Lineup
Charmaine Soh (GS), CHen Huifen (GA), Kimberly Lim (WA), Nurul Baizura (C), ANg SHiqi (WD), Premila Hirubalan (GD), Micky Lin QIngyi (GK)
Samoa Starting Lineup
Auteletoa Tanimo (GS), Julianna Naoupu-Laban (GA), Hanalei Temese (WA), Nicolette Tato (C), Opheira Harder-Karatau (WD), Sanonu Robertson (GD), Natalie Jones (GK)
Scoring by Quarter
Samoa vs Singapore
1st Q: 10-9
2nd Q: 21-17 (11-8)
3rd Q: 33-33 (12-16)
4th Q: 46-39 (13-6)
Shooting Accuracy
Samoa
Auteletoa Tanimo – 17/20 (85%)
Julianna Naoupu-Laban – 24/27 (89%)
Sanita Too – 5/5 (100%)
Singapore
Charmaine Soh – 26/34 (76%)
Chen Huifen – 2/4 (50%)
Yu Mei Ling – 11/19 (58%)
Singapore – Past Results
Preliminary Round (Pool C)
Singapore 56 Sri Lanka 47
South Africa 69 Singapore 21
Malawi 75 Singapore 31
Samoa 46 Singapore 39
Singapore – Upcoming Fixtures
Qualification Round (Pool G)
12 August – Trinidad and Tobago vs Singapore
14 August – Singapore vs Zambia
Leave A Comment