London Pulse surge back to beat Loughborough Lightning

Straight from the centre pass came immediate high intensity of play from both Lightning and Pulse with both teams battling hard.

Pulse attacked quickly calling upon the trustworthy Lightning defence of Fran Williams and Alice Harvey early in the quarter. The Pulse attack capitalised on space in the Lightning's defensive third to create goal-scoring chances.

Lightning decided to use long passes over the top of Pulse’s defence to secure goals from Mary Cholhok. Later in the first half, Lightning came back with a flurry of goals from Cholhok and Rhea Dixon as Hannah Joseph also worked tirelessly in the central third to win the ball back for her team.

Pulse played wide and passed out to their free players to feed the ball into the attacking third and increase the score, the hosts 12-10 in front after the first quarter.

The high tempo of the game continued in the second and didn’t disappoint as Joseph and Dixon intercepted in the centre court to start another Lightning attack to bring a lead. Lightning battled against Pulse’s relentless attack with Jasmin Odeogberin's interceptions lead to several long passes to Cholhok adding more goals to her already enormous tally.

Pulse relented against Lightning’s confidence in play and continued to play the ball wide and fast on the court opening areas of space that warranted a forceful attack.

Two changes were seen in the second quarter for Lightning as Dixon became wing-attack and Joseph headed for centre and Emma Thacker entered the court at goal-attack. These changes to the team brought confidence and resilience to play to regain the lead and sustain the positive build-up play.

Lightning entered the third quarter four goals down but with a further two substitutes head coach Vic Burgess made all efforts to boost team energy and secure the win.

Zan Vimbela entered the court in replacement of Alice Harvey as goalkeeper to join the defensive unit. Also, Odeogberin exited at wing defence for Lauren Nicholls and both changes instantly affected Lightning’s run of play and provided a confidence boost.

Fran Williams continued to be a strong defensive barrier for Lightning against Pulse’s attack and movement as Williams intercepted the play and fired the ball to Thacker to halt Pulse’s momentum and cut the lead to two at the end of the third.

The excitement built into the third quarter with yet another change seeing Bella Baylis take centre court for Hannah Joseph after a half of prolonged strength and interceptive play.

Lightning mirrored Pulse’s strategic play and used the width of the court to send the ball from defence to attack and Dixon’s interception wins Lightning's possession. Baylis made the most of her time on the court and supplied Cholhok with multiple key passes to slim the score.

The Lightning attack gained confidence in attack with Emma Thacker shooting from just inside the shooting circle and succeeded in scoring and boosted the home side even further into the game. Vimbela also played a vital role in the third quarter keeping close to the Pulse attack and therefore removed a significant amount of time from Pulse’s push towards the goal.

There were only two goals in it heading into the final quarter and Lightning looked up for the battle but Pulse matched the energy, and the quarter was an intense one with the defence and attack of both teams working tirelessly to bring the edge and claim the three points.

After the full-time whistle Pulse finished on top claiming three points and making it to second in the table. Both teams brought endless energy and heart to the game and should be commended for their efforts.

Burgess, on the back of Lightning's second loss of the season, said: "It was a tough weekend in the doubleheader and we are missing a few key players. The girls that came on the court were awesome. And there were some momentum shifts in the play that highlighte the importance of the squad’s depth and versatility of all players."

Report supplied by Loughborough Lightning