Young Sunshine Girls face big Australia test today

AFTER LOSING (64-33) to England in their decisive Pool C game for group honours on Tuesday in the Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar, Jamaica’s under-21 Sunshine Girls face another mammoth task when they face Australia in today’s quarter-finals.

The Australians dominated Pool B with overwhelming victories over Northern Ireland, Singapore, Samoa, and Scotland.

Jamaica’s coach, Annette Daley, said the defeat against England was a big disappointment for the girls, nevertheless, she said their aspirations for a podium finish remain in tact.

“I would say the confidence has taken a hit, because you would have prepared to get a better result. But we know that you have to put away the match that is gone and look forward to the ones that are coming. Going into tomorrow, it’s a different ball game. We have to be positive and we have to go in for the win.

“It’s a huge task. But no bigger task than when we came into the competition. We came into the competition with the goal to be on the podium. In order to get on the podium, it means that all these teams we will have to beat.

“So it is no bigger task to say, we are playing Australia now. We have said if we are going to win this championship, it means we have to beat an Australia, [a] New Zealand, [an] England.

“So yes, we are meeting them now in the quarter-finals. But if you are going to be the champions you have to beat the best,” she told the Gleaner.

Daley said they have to start better than they did against England, who led 18-9 after the first quarter and 36-17 at half-time. The third quarter, Jamaica’s best period of the game, both teams scored 10 goals each, to keep England ahead 46-27. However, the English re-established their dominance in the fourth quarter, winning the period 18-6, to win by 31 points.

Daley said basic errors and poor decision-making was also a part of their downfall, and said they must improve if they want to have a chance at victory.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com