Second-half rally hands Waulgrovians exciting win

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

A brilliant second-half display from national representative Jhaniele Fowler guided Waulgrovians 'A' to an exciting 42-39 victory over the previously unbeaten Tivoli Gardens 'A', in their Jamaica Netball Association (JNA)/Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) Open League encounter at the Leila Robinson courts on Saturday.

Fowler scored 19 of her team's 23 goals in the second half as Waulgrovians rallied from a 25-16 deficit at half-time to register their third victory of the season.

Former national captain, Simone Forbes, also had a terrific second half for Waulgrovians as she netted four crucial goals for her team in the final minutes of the game.

"It was just all about energy and talking to each other and motivating each other during the game, and so we were able to get the victory," said Fowler.

"We worked very hard for this victory, because when we were down by nine at half-time we never gave up," she added.

Tivoli on fire

Tivoli Gardens' starting line-up with national representative Jodian Ffrench-Kentish, national coach Oberon Pitterson and experienced goal shooter Cleopatra Grant, outplayed Waulgro-vians the first period, as Grant and Ffrench scored freely against defen-ders Dhanyel Johnson and Paula Thompson.

At the other end, Pitterson, who is also a former national defender, put on an outstanding display as she intercepted a number of passes into the Waulgrovians shooters, while closely marking Forbes on every possession, as Tivoli cruised to a nine-goal lead at half-time.

However, Waulgrovians' coach Patrick Brissett brought on Marrian Campbell to replace wing attack Nordia Hanson after the interval. The move quickly paid off as Campbell, a former national player, added a lot of movement and quickness to the Waulgrovians offence and they took over control of the game in the second half.

Defensively, Thompson and Johnson picked up and did an excellent job marking Grant and Ffrench-Kentish, forcing them to miss a number of easy shots in the final minutes.

Campbell also teamed up well with Forbes and Fowler as Waulgrovians rallied to tie the game at 35-35 with three minutes remaining, before eventually pulling away for an nail-biting victory.

"Everybody was determined that we were going to win this game and we went out after half-time and executed very well to win the match," Fowler stated.