"We know what we need to do, we know we’re going to have to win ball and pressure it early"
Thursday 23 January 2020 16:18, UK
Jess Thirlby and England's Vitality Roses are approaching their winner-takes-all match against Jamaica on Saturday with a crystal-clear game-plan.
After losing to New Zealand and prevailing over South Africa, the home side know that they must beat the Sunshine Girls in order to book a place in the first-versus-second play-off match.
Jamaica started their competition with an impressive victory over the SPAR Proteas, but like England, they fell short at the hands of the Silver Ferns.
The loser of Saturday's duel will feature in the third-versus-fourth play-off which is the first of the two matches on Sunday afternoon at the Copper Box Arena in London.
"It's going to be a tough one against Jamaica but I'm really looking forward to the fact that we have put ourselves in that position [winner-takes-all] on Saturday," head coach Thirlby said.
"Coming into the tournament I said that, ideally, we want to get into these finals and we have every opportunity to do so now.
"It's going to be tough with that height in the back but South Africa pushed them the other day. Everyone was a bit critical of us against New Zealand but you saw the margin between the Silver Ferns and Jamaica (26 goals) so I think it's game on.
"We know what we need to do, we know we're going to have to win ball and pressure it early.
"We've got to be much more clinical in possession of the ball and we've just got to keep on minimising those errors."
The errors that Thirlby mentioned formed a key part of their first half in Birmingham and resulted in them having to come back from a half-time deficit.
At the heart of the home side's comeback was captain Natalie Haythornthwaite, who combined roles at both WA and GA during the 60 minutes. The Roses' player of the match, Stacey Francis, was full of praise for her team-mate.
"Nat just leads by example and there was that one moment in that game, where she took that flying interception and then decided to feed it straight into the circle. That moment epitomised the kind of leader she is," Francis said.
"Not only does she lead in attack, she's on the forefront of our transition in defence as well."
Throughout the 60 minutes, head coach Thirlby wasn't afraid to amend and tinker with her line-up. She started with different combinations but constantly moved things on at the right time in order to generate new momentum and create new pictures for South Africa to think about.
"We tried a different starting line-up, and to be fair to George [Fisher] and El [Cardwell], haven't started an international match that way around and they very rarely play together.
"So, it was likely that it was going to run its course and I felt we lost our way a little bit just before half-time. But, the impact from those who came off the bench was so pleasing.
"Amy Carter, I was always confident to enter her sooner, and she did a really good job in only her second match for us.
"I was really pleased with the changes and I felt at half-time there was a real response to play smarter and not just harder.
"The other evening [against New Zealand] the third quarter was our undoing but this time it definitely was the one that got us over the line."
Thirlby and the Roses must now turn their attentions on the Sunshine Girls and navigate their way around another short turnaround.
The last time the two outfits faced each other was the Netball World Cup in Liverpool and on that occasion the Vitality Roses ran out 56-48 victors.
Sky Sports is your home of netball - every moment of the Vitality Nations Cup is being shown on air and streamed on YouTube. The third match-day is on January 25, with New Zealand versus South Africa and England against Jamaica.
