Manchester Thunder head coach Tracey Neville was left frustrated by costly unforced errors after watching her team lose out to Team Bath in the Netball Superleague semi-finals.
Manchester, the defending champions, trailed by three goals at half-time and were unable to muster a comeback after the break as Bath ran out comfortable winners.
Neville paid tribute after wards to everyone who helped the Thunder make the semi-finals and promised they will go all out to regain their title next season.
“We just weren’t good enough on the night, there were too many unforced errors and you get punished for these against a side the quality of Team Bath,” she said.
“It has been a long season with many ups and downs in the Thunder camp but we have a fantastic squad who make it all worthwhile.
“On behalf of Manchester Thunder I would like to thank the players, staff, volunteers, fans and everyone involved with the franchise.
“I would also like to thank everyone involved from England Netball including umpires, and particularly Superleague General Manager Mike Watson. We look forward to the challenge again next season.”
Bath seized the initiative early by jumping out to a 6-1 lead and, though Manchester managed to level at 16-16, that was as good as it got as they trailed for the remainder of the game.
Neville rang the changes to no avail late on as 16-year-old Alice Travis came on at goal shooter, Rachel Henry moved to wing attack and Sara Bayman swopped patches with Laura Malcolm.
Bath now move on to the Netball Superleague Showdown next Saturday to play the winner of Celtic Dragons against Surrey Storm.
Picture courtesy of Mike Greenwood, with thanks
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