Singapore beat Ireland 62-52 for second win at netball’s Nations Cup

SINGAPORE – As tougher tests await them later this week at the Mirxes Nations Cup, Singapore’s netball team received a timely reminder about the importance of consistency in a 62-52 victory over Ireland on Sept 2.

At the OCBC Arena, world No. 25 Singapore started the game well, taking a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter before extending it to 36-18 at the interval.

But 22nd-ranked Ireland fought back in the second half, outscoring the hosts 16-15 and 18-11 in the remaining two quarters to narrow the deficit to just 10 goals.

National coach Annette Bishop said: “We had a great start, there was a thing about coming out and starting hard because Ireland has always been one of those teams that would stick with us. All credit to Ireland, they came back to us.

“We rang a few changes, we didn’t adjust to what Ireland was putting out there so we need to ensure we adjust a lot quicker.”

While Singapore co-captain Toh Kai Wei felt that the team had a better start to the match, compared to their

opening 78-20 win over unranked Canada the day before,

she felt that one area for improvement was keeping their focus throughout the four quarters.

“Compared to yesterday, we had a better start but it’s just that we couldn’t sustain it throughout the quarters. The shots compared to yesterday also weren’t that great,” said Toh, who plays wing attack and goal attack.

“Maybe it’s the focus of the team but it’s definitely something we want to tidy up, to maintain the focus and consistency throughout the quarters.”

Bishop noted that Ireland played a different style compared to Canada, with the Irish also switching from a player-on-player to zonal defence in the second half.

While she stressed the need to adapt quickly to changes, the New Zealander also highlighted her players’ composure during a tense second half.

She said: “It was just about us not hitting the panic button. At times, we were under stress but we just need to know that we can take back the momentum and be a lot more calmer and cool.”

Despite the loss, Ireland coach Teresa Gillespie believes there are positives to take away from the match, especially from their performance in the second half.

She said: “It definitely gives us confidence to come back and do the same again, it gives a real good feeling that we can do this. We threw too many balls away, we made too many errors and now we can go back and focus on that.”

In the other matches on Sept 2, developmental side Singapore A beat Canada 60-35, while the 21st-ranked United Arab Emirates (UAE) remained unbeaten with a 44-37 win over Kenya.

Ireland’s next match will be against Singapore A (5pm) on Sept 3, while the UAE will play Canada (3pm). Singapore take on Kenya in the last match of the day at 7pm.

Having the ability to adapt to other teams will be crucial, as Toh noted that world No. 30 Kenya have a different style of play that involves a lot more running and passing.

On what they will be focusing on, Bishop added: “It will be making sure we put a performance in consistently every quarter. All credit to the girls, when we made those changes it took a little while to adapt but we actually came through.

“Even with Ireland pushing back at us, we still maintained it so there was no need to panic. We just need to ensure that we’re getting our centre passes through and scoring and making sure that turnovers are capitalised.”