Sunday 23 February 2020 13:41, UK
Mel Mansfield has called for more confidence in Wasps Netball's attack-end as they look to put a defeat at the Vitality Netball Superleague Season Opener in Birmingham behind them.
The two-time champions were not able to fully recover from a costly first quarter against Manchester Thunder and commenced their 2020 campaign with a 62-55 defeat.
After a pre-season campaign that included a trip to New Zealand to partake in Super Club, Wasps had set their sights on hitting the ground running and did not want this first match to feel like game one.
However, it was their opponents who charged out of the blocks the quicker of the two and ultimately that proved to be costly.
"I'm frustrated. It's not a good enough start from us and we'll look closely at why that happened and come back firing for Mavericks," Mansfield said.
"To give ourselves a six-goal deficit was tough. We kept clawing things back but then at critical moments would give the ball away.
"I think we need to be able to confidently pass the ball into our shooters and I think a lot of that is confidence, which I'm sure will grow throughout the season."
Wasps, like Thunder, approached this match with new personnel in their attack-end after the departure of Bongi Msomi at the end of last season.
The England Roses athlete Iona Christian was given the nod to start at WA alongside Katie Harris at GA and the experienced Rachel Dunn in at shooter.
As the first-half played out, Wasps' fluidity did not match that of Thunder's, something that the new Scotland head coach Tamsin Greenway highlighted post-match.
"Thunder were structured right from the beginning. They understood what they were trying to do and I thought Ash Neal was solid in her position," Greenway said.
"Kathryn Turner complimented her really well and they looked better prepared. Whereas Wasps took time to get those connections going."
England Netball head coach Jess Thirlby was part of the Sky Sports commentary team calling the Grand Final re-match and also reflected on Wasps' attack-end.
"Iona Christian will grow with every game that she gets," Thirlby said.
"I just think that the new players from Thunder were more seamless than the new players for Wasps. The attacking front-line for Wasps didn't learn quick enough, they needed to get more depth.
"Jade Clarke and Iona Christian got caught level early on in the game and were a bit risky with going direct to the circle too soon.
"They needed to play a few more phases, get into the pockets and penetrate a little bit more."
"For most of the game the scores were level, the biggest difference was in the opening quarter," Thirlby added. "It's one of those frustrating ones for Mel Mansfield."
Wasps Netball's first opportunity to put Birmingham behind them arrives on March 2 when they host Saracens Mavericks at the Ricoh Arena.
Kat Ratnapala's team, a largely settled squad, will be arriving there with confidence after overturning their own slow start, to secure a 70-49 victory over Severn Stars on day one.
"Wasps lost by six goals, they still put 55 on the board, and that was on a bad day," Greenway said.
"They have a lot to go and I think that the team will grow as the season goes."
Coverage of the Vitality Superleague season continues on Monday March 2 when Surrey Storm entertain London Pulse, join us on Sky Sports Arena, Mix and YouTube from 7pm.
