Thunder beat Forest for second straight win
Manchester Thunder beat Nottingham Forest 81-65 in the Netball Super League for their second successive victory.Thunder dominated the opening quarter and led 39-29 at half-time despite a Forest fightback.The hosts eased to their win, with goal attack Elmere van der Berg scoring 52 goals and captain Amy Carter named player of the match.Eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt was in attendance at Manchester's Belle Vue Arena. Elsewhere, London Pulse sealed a comfortable 78-42 win against London Mavericks to remain unbeaten at the top of the table. Both sides had two wins from two going into the match, but Pulse raced to a 40-19 lead at half-time and the Mavericks were unable to fight back. Pulse wing-defence Zara Everitt was named player of the match. The match between Cardiff Dragons and Birmingham Panthers, who were both searching for their first win, had to be abandoned because of an injury to Cardiff's Leah Middleton. Cardiff confirmed on social media that the fixture would be rearranged.
'It wasn't the prettiest' - reaction to Thunder win
Player of the match, Manchester Thunder captain Amy Carter: "We met them [Forest] pre-season and they blew us out of the water so it was really nice to put the work in and grind it out."Our strength is bringing through our younger players, it's really exciting that we can blend that in with our squad." Manchester Thunder head coach Karen Greig: "I don't think it was a very pretty game! We were quite stagnant at times and played too wide so I'd like to see us taking the attack a little more."But we're still building, we're learning a lot from each game. We let them back in towards the end of the second quarter so we'll be honest about that and go back to the drawing board."But a 16-goal win at this point of the season, we'll definitely take it."Nottingham Forest head coach Chelsea Pitman: "We can't rely on chasing down a lead, we need to start better. "Thunder played really well and they were quite comfortable. But I am really proud of the team, we will go back and review it and go again in round four."
Fixtures and results
Friday 28 MarchManchester Thunder 81-65 Nottingham ForestLondon Pulse 78-42 London MavericksCardiff Dragons v Birmingham Panthers: Match abandonedRemaining round three fixtureSunday, 30 MarchLeeds Rhinos v Loughborough Lightning (16:00 BST)Round four fixturesFriday, 4 AprilLeeds Rhinos v London Pulse (19:00 BST)Saturday, 5 AprilNottingham Forest v Loughborough Lightning (15:00 BST)Cardiff Dragons v Manchester Thunder (19:00 BST)Sunday, 6 AprilLondon Mavericks v Birmingham Panthers (16:00 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app, and on demand
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