Loughborough Lightning continued their impressive form in the Netball Super League (NSL) with a commanding 65-53 victory over Manchester Thunder on Friday night. This win propels them to second place in the league standings, just two points behind the leaders, London Pulse.

Match Highlights

• Early Dominance: Manchester Thunder started strong, taking control in the early stages of the game.
• Lightning's Comeback: Loughborough Lightning fought back fiercely, leading 38-27 at halftime.
• Second Half Surge: The hosts scored an additional 27 points in the second half to secure the win.

Key Players

• Samantha Wallace-Joseph: The Lightning's star shooter scored an impressive 23 goals.
• Elmere van der Berg: Despite the loss, Thunder's van der Berg led the scoring with 27 goals.
• Shadine van der Merwe: Named player of the match for her outstanding performance against her former team.

Post-Match Reactions

Shadine van der Merwe (Loughborough Lightning):

"I've done my homework. It was important for us as a team to suffocate them and then be rewarded. That's exactly what happened - but without the players around me, I couldn't have done that."

Karen Greig (Manchester Thunder Head Coach):

"I'm not overly happy with the performance. We knew exactly what Loughborough were going to come out and do to us, and we played straight into their traps."

Vic Burgess (Loughborough Lightning Head Coach):

"That performance wasn't perfect, but to grind out a performance against a solid team like Thunder... I'm really proud of them, but there's still lots to work on."

Other NSL Action

In another thrilling match, London Mavericks defeated Cardiff Dragons 72-61 in the first game of the season to go into extra time. Emma Thacker was instrumental in securing the win for the Mavericks.

Upcoming Fixtures

• Saturday, 3 May: London Mavericks vs. Cardiff Dragons
• Sunday, 4 May: Nottingham Forest vs. London Pulse (16:00 BST)
• Sunday, 4 May: Birmingham Panthers vs. Leeds Rhinos (18:00 BST)

Standings Update

With this victory, Loughborough Lightning now sits in second place, just two points behind London Pulse. Manchester Thunder remains in contention but will need to regroup quickly to stay in the race for the top spot.

Related Topics

• Netball Super League
• Loughborough Lightning
• Manchester Thunder
• NSL
• Samantha Wallace-Joseph