Orchids look to slow Spurs in crucial game two of Elite League final
Published:Sunday | April 16, 2023 | 1:26 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
ST ANN Orchids head coach, Kurt Dale, noticed something on Friday night when his team were downed 54-62 by the Manchester Spurs in the first game of the best of three Seprod/Netball Jamaica Elite League final inside the National Arena.
According to the coach, there were a number of setbacks before the game started but even a weakened team could find ways to improve come tonight at 5 p.m. inside the Arena when they try to stay alive in the series.
“They’re a lot of positives; we have a lot of sick players in the camp such as our starting goal keeper Roxonna [McLean], who wasn’t able to play in Friday’s game, and that really showed in our defensive end,” said Dale.
According to the Orchids coach though, his side will address those issues.
“The team isn’t built around one person, we turned over a lot of balls. The last time we played, they scored 45 and then 62 tonight [Friday], so that’s a huge turnaround,” he said.
According to Dale, evening the score is not out of the question.
“We’ll be going back to the drawing board and look at how we can slow that scoring down,” he said about tonight’s game.
DO OR DIE
The Orchids may have to face the do-or-die scenario tonight without McLean in their line-up. The ace goal keeper’s involvement is being played by ear.
The Spurs drew first blood with their powerful offensive duo of goal attack Shanice Beckford and goal shooter Shantal Slater, wreaking havoc on the St Ann Orchirds defensive line en route to registering a wire-to-wire victory.
The Spurs, who had a slender 15-14 lead after the first quarter, would extend that lead by the halfway mark, heading into the dressing room 29-25 leaders.
A strong third-quarter showing by the Orchids saw them cut into the lead, trailing 44-41 after outscoring the Spurs 16-15.
The Spurs, who felt the pressure of the Orchids team, had their highest scoring quarter of the game, outscoring them 18-13 to run away with the victory and take a 1-0 series lead into tonight.
Rasheed Josephs, head coach of the Spurs, hailed the performance of Slater, who he admitted prior to Friday’s game was low on confidence.
“Shantel is a phenomenal player. We had some things that we needed to work on during our training session on Wednesday and we had to boost her confidence and let her know that this league is like a minor league to her and her skill level is very high. We boosted her confidence, worked on her shots and she came out here and delivered,” said Josephs.
If the Orchids can push a game three, that will also be played at the National Arena on April 21. The potential fixture is scheduled for 6 p.m.