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London Pulse’s superb start to the Netball Super League season continued with a hard-fought 61-56 victory over Manchester Thunder.
Pulse’s win was their sixth straight victory in as many games and puts them six points clear of second-placed Thunder in the standings.
Olivia Tchine’s prowess at goal shooter proved key as she scored 37 goals for Pulse, which took her tally to 223 for the season.
Thunder counterpart Elmere van der Berg managed 16 by comparison as Pulse defended impressively against the South African.
Pulse, who joined NSL in 2019, felt their way into the contest and had a narrow 29-26 lead at the half-time interval.
At one point Pulse established a seven-point cushion in the third quarter but Thunder finished it strongly and reduced the deficit to three at 46-43.
The home side’s work-rate and clinical finishing ultimately proved the difference at London’s Copper Box Arena, though, as they closed out the match.
With just under a minute remaining Tchine twice kept her composure and on this occasion Thunder had no answer.
‘Could have gone either way’ – reaction
Player of the match Funmi Fadoju of London Pulse: “It was a hard match. Both teams came out and wanted to get that win and we got over the line.
“We knew they were a good team and very talented and we just had to start our own jumps first.
“Being unbeaten feels so good. It gives us so much confidence that we feel we can beat any side out there. We can hopefully push on from here.”
London Pulse head coach Sam Bird: “That was a great game to be part of. Thunder were really strong and there was some really good netball all over the court.
“It could have gone either way, but I thought we were calmer in that critical final phase. We’re still looking for improvements.
“Today before the game is the most relaxed we’ve been and I think that belief is there now. We’ve got over the line and got good momentum now.”
Thunder coach Karen Greig: “I’m super proud of the girls. We knew that today was going to be a tough ask for us, and a little bit of inexperience showed at times.
“But the fact is we have pushed a London Pulse team full of superstars. There was a point in that fourth quarter where we could have taken it on.
“We had areas where we lost focus but there’s really big positives and near the halfway stage we have more to show.”
Best of the stats
This was just London Pulse’s second victory over Manchester Thunder in 11 NSL meetings. Their only other success came during the 2023 season.
Thunder scored twice as many super shots (14) to Pulse’s but the London side’s shooting success of 84% was superior to the Manchester team’s 75%.
Olivia Tchine is the NSL’s top goalscorer with 223 in six games and a shot success rate of 87%.
Fixtures and results
Round six
Friday, 18 April
London Pulse 61-56 Manchester Thunder
Saturday, 19 April
London Mavericks v Loughborough Lightning (17:00)
Birmingham Panthers v Nottingham Forest (18:00)
Cardiff Dragons v Leeds Rhinos (19:00)
