England defeat New Zealand to force Manchester decider

Harriet Millard

England produced a determined 61–58 victory over New Zealand, to level the series and set up a winner-takes-all decider in Manchester on Wednesday. In a gripping contest that exactly reversed yesterday’s scoreline, the Roses won an emphatic third quarter and held their nerve to keep the series alive.

Credit: Shaun Brooks

Following yesterday's battle just 20 hours prior, both camps had said that recovery was the top priority, and to their credit, all players emerged looking sharp from the first whistle in London's Copper Box this afternoon.

In the midcourt, Amy Carter returned to Centre for England, while Fran Williams renewed her duel with Maddy Gordon. Helen Housby slotted home early to set a positive tone, though New Zealand broke to move 2–3, then 2–4 ahead, before Liv Tchine steadied the Roses with a long-range effort taking her side ahead briefly, 5–4.

England crafted moments of brilliance, Jess Shaw’s bullet feed to Olivia Tchine drawing delicious comparisons to days gone by of Serena Guthrie finding Jo Harten under the post, but the Ferns retained their edge, taking the opening quarter 12-13.

The highlight in the second period belonged to New Zealand's Maddy Gordon, who launched herself airborne to keep a stray ball in play, twisting in the air, sending it to Grace Nweke for a deserved finish. New Zealand pushed out to 14-18 before England fought back to within one point.

Another Tchine long bomb kept the hosts close, and England levelled at 23–23. A reshuffle saw Williams move to GD and Beth Cobden mark her 50th cap entering the court at WD. Still, the Ferns’ shooting accuracy was 96% at halftime, carrying them to a 26–29 lead.

After the main break, New Zealand introduced Amelia Walmsley at GA, but it was England 's turn to seize momentum. Jas Brown played with infectious joy, while Williams produced a towering long feed into Tchine, and with a confident rebound from Housby the scoreboard tied at 32-32.

Brown then pounced on a poor Walmsley pass, sparking a scoring chain that pushed England ahead 35-34. Carter followed with a flying sideline intercept, and the Roses built a 46-42 lead, winning the quarter 19-13 - their best of the series so far.

New Zealand stormed back after the break, disrupting England’s midcourt and rattling off four unanswered goals to level at 46–46. But England steadied. A crucial midcourt intercept from Helen Housby at 51–50 turned momentum once more, and Tchine added another long-range strike.

The closing exchanges were tense before Carter’s composed one-leg take on the attacking circle edge gave England, and the Copper Box crowd, another boost. England pushed ahead to 56-53 and held firm, closing out the match 61-58.

Housby’s all-court performance and key defensive wins in the midcourt earned her the Player of the Match medal, and contributed to England forcing a decider.

With one win apiece - both by three goals - the series heads to Manchester tightly poised for a blockbuster finale on Wednesday night.

Quarter scores:

Q1: England 12 - 13 New Zealand

Q2: England 15 - 16 New Zealand

Q3: England 19 - 13 New Zealand

Q4: England 15 - 16 New Zealand

Cumulative scores:

Q1: England 12 - 13 New Zealand

HT: England 27 - 29 New Zealand

Q3: England 46 - 42 New Zealand

FT: England 61 - 58 New Zealand