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Commonwealth Games 2018: Historic gold for England netballers

Posted: 15th April 2018 - 8:16am
Commonwealth Games 2018: Historic gold for England netballers

England netballers have secured the greatest result in their history to win their first Commonwealth Games gold medal.

Loughborough College alumna Helen Housby scored in the final second to give England a 52-51 victory over the favourites Australia.

A dramatic comeback over Jamaica in the semi-finals had secured them a spot in their first ever Commonwealth final and at half time the Roses were matching the hosts 25-25.

They then shocked the home crowd by overturning a four-point deficit in the final quarter to claim their dramatic win.

This was the first time since netball was introduced at the 1998 Games that the final did not feature both Australia and New Zealand.

With the scores at 51-51 with 20 seconds remaining, England took the final centre pass of the game.

Jo Harten failed to sink a rushed attempt at goal with the clock down to five, and Housby's effort also fell short.

But a late contact call saw Housby given a second chance, and she slotted the winner on the buzzer.

Alongside Housby in the squad Tracey Neville selected for the Gold Coast are fellow former Loughborough College students Beth Cobden, Jodie Gibson, Kadeen Corbin and Natalie Haythornthwaite.
England had only beaten Australia five times in their history before Sunday - but not since 2013 and never at a major tournament.

It is the best result in England's history, having previously won silver at the 1975 World Cup in a round-robin format, and Neville's side will be confident of making more history in 2019 when Liverpool hosts the World Cup.