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'We were very unlucky'

Published:Tuesday | November 23, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Sunshine Girls captain Simone Forbes (right) and other members of the Jamaican delegation stand inside the arrival terminal at the Norman Manley International Airport, shortly after their return from the World Netball FasNet Series in England. The Sunshine Girls finished third in the six-team tournament. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Jamaica's Sunshine Girls returned to the island last night, fresh from their bronze medal-winning performance at the second World FastNet Series in Liverpool, England.

Though the medal colour was not what they had intended to come home with - having won silver at last year's tournament in Manchester, England - there was a strong feeling among the group that the programme is now back on track, following a turbulent year.

Jamaica crashed to a disappointing fourth place at the recent Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, and also suffered heavy defeats at the hands of Australia and New Zealand in tours Down Under.

With a mountain of criticism on their shoulders and a wave of doubt around the direction of the programme, the girls went into the tournament knowing that a lot was at stake.

They finished the preliminary round unbeaten, before falling to New Zealand by a point in the semi-final (29-28).

The Girls rallied to beat world power Australia for the second time in the tournament, bettering them 30-29 in a hard-fought third-place battle.

Achievement

Head coach, Connie Francis, was extremely proud of her team's efforts and achievement.

"I lift my hat to the girls because they fought very hard throughout the entire tournament," said Francis. "I love the way the girls responded and adjusted to this different type of netball. We were very unlucky to lose to New Zealand by one point.

"There is no failure here. The girls did their part in order to win, certain things happened out of our control, but the girls fought their hearts out and I am very proud of them," Francis added before sending a message to the Jamaican public.

"Keep supporting the girls. Next year we are going to be doing things differently. We will be bringing in an experienced overseas coach and she has our full support. It's going to be a lot of hard work and the girls are looking forward to it and are preparing for it. They sacrificed a lot for their country and deserve our full support," said Francis.

Tournament MVP and team captain, Simone Forbes, was happy with her personal achievement, but was also proud of the application and efforts of her teammates.

"I share this award with my teammates, I couldn't have won this without their support, and so I owe it to them," Forbes said.

"It was a successful tour, it was fantastic, the camaraderie was wonderful. We placed third, but we left that tournament as number one in our minds, and this is a good step for us in preparation for next year," she added.

"I'm really proud of the ladies' performance, especially after the type of year that we have had. We are going into next year with a nice little momentum and we are certainly looking forward to everything that is in store for us," Forbes added.