England beat Jamaica 55-47 in Manchester to take 1-0 lead in four-match Netball Horizon Series

England will head to Jamaica for final two matches of Netball Horizon Series with 1-0 lead after following opening draw in Manchester with 55-47 victory a day later; Fran Williams and Funmi Fadoju impress in defence for Vitality Roses, who pull away in second half of game

Sunday 17 November 2024 16:31, UK

England took the lead in the four-match Vitality Netball Horizon Series against Jamaica with a hard-fought 55-47 win in match two in Manchester.

The Vitality Roses were denied victory in Saturday's opening fixture at the same venue as Jamaica's Shanice Beckford scored a last-gasp goal to secure a 49-49 draw for the visitors.

However, England held off the Sunshine Girls less than 24 hours later in a game in which Fran Williams and Funmi Fadoju excelled in defence but the hosts' attacking game lacked cohesion at times.

The final two games of the series will take place in Kingston, Jamaica on November 25 and 26.

Jess Thirlby's side led 12-8 after the first quarter on Sunday but went into half-time at 24-24, with captain Williams noting a lack of discipline as she spoke at the break.

England rallied to lead 39-35 after the third quarter and then closed things out in the final 15 minutes as they added 16 more points to their tally compared to Jamaica's 12.

Thirlby 'healthily dissatisfied' but 'super excited'

Speaking to the BBC after the game, head coach Thirlby said: "I am healthily dissatisfied that there is a little bit more to come but super excited at some of the snapshots of where I think this team can go.

"Thank god we got another chance to play [a day after the first game] as you could see we were a bit frustrated by the end of Saturday's match, but we learnt so much from that.

"We exposed a couple of players and you need to do that.

"That set us up for success today and meant we were a bit braver. The players were honest last night and I thought we were much better in the critical moments today."

Thirlby also confirmed that England - ranked second in the world, behind Australia - will take 15 players to Jamaica.

She added: "The next couple of weeks for us is to still think about trying to get the win but not at all costs. We need to come home with a lot of information."