Manchester Thunder showed a dominant display against Birmingham Panthers in a 47-77 Thriller

Credit: @birminghampanthersnetball on Instagram 

Friday night netball saw NSL Newcomers Birmingham Panthers welcome 2024 Finalists Manchester Thunder to the BP Pulse arena for their first home game. A lot of the Birmingham Panthers squad moved from the old Severn Stars squad with Jo Trip also being Head Coach of the newly established side. Thunder won 77-47 with the scoreline being the biggest that the new era has seen so far. 

Thunder continuously brought the ball back to the centre third as they tried to contribute to the scoreline with Panthers defending well and putting on pressure for the opening 15 minutes. Taylor McKevitt in the Wing Defence role performed some good interceptions throughout to help the shooters with Emma Rayner in the Wing Attack feeding the ball into Anya Williams in the Goal Shoot bib throughout the opening three quarters. Thunder had some good passing channels on the far side of the court to pass the ball from defence into attack. Panthers did well in the Wing Attack role with Jess Shaw as she found pockets of space where no other Thunder players were to help out their shooters. Wing Defence Aliyah Zaranyika intercepted the ball on multiple occasions to help the debutants come within one goal going into the first break.

1st Quarter: Birmingham Panthers 14-15 Manchester Thunder 

Manchester Thunder showed experience in the second quarter with the side scoring 21 goals in the quarter alone. Elmeré van der Berg was the dominant scorer across both teams scoring 15 goals out of the 21 for Thunder. Panthers continued playing well with their side passing down the same side of the court as well as Jas Brown intercepting the ball on multiple occasions. Despite Thunder running away with it, Panthers continued to do well despite losing balls on some occasions. Clara Miles made her debut and came in for Betsy Creak at Goal Attack during the 15 with Phoebe Maslen also making her debut as she came in for Aliyah Zaranyika in Wing Defence.

Half-time: Birmingham Panthers 21-36 Manchester Thunder 

No changes for Manchester Thunder after half time with Panthers making a switch at Centre as Phoebe Maslen moved to the role taking over from Ruth Hughes. Michelle Magee came into the seven in place of Phoebe Maslen who moved across. Thunder continued to show dominance as they passed the ball short and frequently to make it harder for the Panthers to react. Elmeré van der Berg continued to perform well for the Thunder side scoring 15 goals again. 

For Panthers, despite the tough scoreline, they continued to perform well in areas with Gabby Coffey in the Goal Defence intercepting the ball on occasions and the combination of Jess Shaw in Wing Attack and Sigi Burger in Goal Shoot helped the Birmingham side. For Manchester Thunder, the duo of Indya Masser and Elmeré van der Berg proved vital for the side with the girls providing most of the pathway for the goals. Towards the end, both sides made changes with Betsy Creak coming on in the Goal Shoot role with Sigi Burger moving to the bench for Panthers. For Thunder, Goal Defence Elia McCormick went to the bench with Ané Retief making her debut. 

3rd Quarter: Birmingham Panthers 38-55 Manchester Thunder

The final quarter saw Lucy Herdman coming on in Goal Attack for Thunder with Elmeré van der Berg going to Goal Shooter and youngster Anya Williams moving to the bench. Thunder’s Goal Keeper Josie Huckle continued to perform some excellent intercepts to help secure the win with Elmeré van der Berg dominating the scoring for the side. She scored 18 goals in the final quarter with Panthers putting in some sloppy passes towards the end. Manchester Thunder captain Amy Carter continued to cross the ball into the Goal Shooter of van der Berg with herself also getting an interception later on in the match. 

Full time: Birmingham Panthers 47-77 Manchester Thunder 

Player of the Match: 

Sky Sports named Manchester Thunder Captain and Centre Amy Carter as their Player of the Match after running the court throughout the 60 minutes and dominating all three thirds of the court performing some excellent interceptions to keep them in it. Another Player of the Match would be shooter Elmeré van der Berg with herself scoring 55 of the 77 goals for the Manchester side. 

Next Fixtures: 

Birmingham Panthers now have two losses on the board but travel to LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons on Friday 28th March. The game is being held at the House of Sport at 7pm with the game also being shown on Sky Sports for those who can’t make it. 

For Manchester Thunder, they host newcomers Nottingham Forest on Friday 28th March. The game is being held at Belle Vue Arena with first centre pass at 7.30pm and the game being shown on BBC Sport. 

Teams:

Manchester Thunder stuck with the same squad that played against Loughborough Lightning last week meanwhile for Birmingham Panthers they have two NXTGen players into the squad due to injury. Clara Miles (GA/WA) and Phoebe Maslen (C/WD) both come in for Gabby Marshall and Gabby Sinclair. 

Birmingham Panthers Starting Seven: Sigi Burger (GS), Betsy Creak (GA), Jess Shaw (WA), Ruth Hughes ©, Aliyah Zaranyika (WD), Gabby Coffey (GD), Jas Brown (GK)

Impact Players: Michelle Magee, Clara Miles, Phoebe Maslen. 

Manchester Thunder Starting Seven: Anya Williams (GS), Elmeré van der Berg (GA), Emma Rayner (WA), Amy Carter ©, Taylor McKevitt (WD), Elia McCormick (GD), Josie Huckle (GK). 

Impact Players: Indya Masser, Lucy Herdman, Ané Retief.