If you want to relive the Scottish Thistles #NWC2019 Campaign, or missed-out on any of their matches, we’ve got you covered! We’ve put together mini-match reports to give you a succinct overview of each match in Scotland’s #NWC2019 campaign – take a read below!

Scotland v South Africa

Scotland’s 4^th Match of the Netball World Cup was against South Africa, a team who, at the time of writing, are placed 5^th in the INF World Rankings. Scotland showed that they could stand tall against a top 6 team in the early quarters of this match, but we’re outmanoeuvred by a more aggressive South African side.

Q1: The Thistles opened an early 5-3 lead after South Africa’s attack ran into trouble, however, South Africa bounced back quickly to even out the score line and eventually pull away from Scotland to establish a 15-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Q2: South Africa extended that lead in the second quarter, they forced Scotland into mistakes and capitalised on it to take a 32-20 lead into half time.

Q3: The third quarter seen South Africa maintain a strong attacking stance, with the Thistles side struggling to find opportunities. Emma Barrie kept the scoreboard ticking over, but South Africa ended 49-32 up.

Q4: The final 15 minutes seen an intense defensive effort from both sides. Burger and Holtzhausen kept the scoreboard ticking over for South Africa, who finished 66-38 winners.

Scottish Thistles Emma Barrie said:

“We had some good stuff out on court but we were lacking consistency.  We’ll go back and look at some analysis, see where we went wrong and try and fix it for our next match.”

Scotland v Jamaica

Scotland seen an early victory over Jamaica taking the first quarter from the Sunshine Girls, in what was a heartening victory for the Thistles. However, Jamaica, looking to prove themselves, pushed back to take control of the match and seen Scotland finally trail 36–76.

Q1: Both sides started this match strongly, but an early Jamaican injury affected the movement of the team. Scotland, who took full advantage of their opponents’ confusion, were neck and neck with the 2^nd ranked team in the world for much of Q1. The thistles were soon able to pull ahead, giving them a win in the first quarter,  leading Jamaica 14–13.

Q2: Jamaica didn’t take the first quarter loss lightly; Fowler brought the scores level early in quarter two and quickly carved out a three-goal lead. Scotland struggled to maintain possession and Jamaica ended the half 32-21 up.

Q3: Jamaica dominated this quarter, and with Scotland unable to keep control of the ball Jamaica were storming ahead to extend their lead out to 20. All the while Shamera Sterling was proving a disruptive force to the Scottish attack and Jamaica ended the third quarter 50-26 up.

Q4: Scotland found more rhythm in the final quarter of the match, with the first 6 goals evenly shared across both teams, and an excellent intercept allowed Scotland to claw back some points and reduce the deficit. But it wasn’t enough, and Jamaica maintained their lead, winning the match 67 – 36.

Scotland Head Coach Gail Parata said:

“We came out today hoping we might be able to surprise Jamaica in that first quarter and get the lead. We debated whether to risk players, because the game we really want is Trinidad and Tobago (tomorrow), but we thought we’d see how the first quarter went, and we were delighted to be in front.

“In the second quarter we knew they’d up their game, and we couldn’t keep pace with them. The Jamaican team that we know – the speed and the flair they have – came out in the second and third quarters, but I was pleased with our finish too.”

Scotland v Trinidad and Tobago

In one of the tightest matches of the NWC, with a game that seen the lead change hands on multiple occasions, Scotland were able to secure a 43-43 draw with T&T thanks to a last-minute goal from Lynsey Gallagher.

Q1: This was a must win match for both sides and one that Scotland had targeted as a must win. Emma Barrie opened the scoring but T&T’s defence challenged Scotland. A series of loose passes from T&T enabled the Thistles to pill ahead and close the first quarter with an 11-9 lead.

Q2: The second quarter seen Trinidad and Tobago capitalise on any Scottish error and moved them towards a 14-13 lead. Scotland fought hard to keep the scores level though, and a late miss by Kalifa McCollin seen Scotland go into half time 22-21 up.

Q3: The third quarter was as close as the previous two. Again, early momentum was with T&T as they leapt ahead of Scotland by 2 goals. Their lead was however, short lived and the Thistles capitalised on a centre error which allowed the Thistles to tie T&T 34 – 34  going into the final quarter.

Q4: The final seen Scotland and Trinidad and Tobago wrestling for overall control of the match, but as the time ticked down and the score line remained tight, it took a Scottish error to allow T&T back into the game and almost immediately seen Scotland trailing 42 – 39. However, the shooting partnership of Gallagher and Barrie seen Scotland draw level with 45 seconds to go. Astoundingly, with 30 seconds to go T&T’s Wallace sank what should have been the winning goal of the game but a well handled ball to Gallagher, who was awarded a penalty in the dying seconds the match, allowed her to sink the goal-tying shot from left of the goal, finishing 43-43.

Scotland’s Lynsey Gallagher said:

“I heard the crowd roar and I knew it was a penalty pass or shot, so I just needed to take my time and put it away.

“I think it was a bit of ping pong at the end. It’s hard to win ball off Trinidad and Tobago and we just had to treasure the ball. Sometimes it was just the final execution of things – things that you know you do day-in, day-out, but I think that was just part and parcel of that game.”

Scotland with this late draw finished 6^th in Group G and played Barbados in the 11^th/12th play-off.

Scotland v Barbados

Excellent play in second and fourth quarters made the difference for the Thistles, who were able to see off Barbados and claim 11^th as they ran out 53-42 winners.

Q1: Scotland made the most of early errors from Barbados, with more than a few excellent interceptions to swing momentum the way of the Thistles for the first quarter allowing them to build an early 6-2 lead. However, Barbados fought back, and a turnover saw Barbados claw the score line back somewhat. Scotland maintained a 15-13 at the end of Q1.

Q2: Scotland Came out of the blocks immediately at the start of the second quarter, securing 5 goals to command a 20-13 lead. Emma Barrie kept that score line ticking over with an excellent string of shots and Scotland were 29-22 up going into half time

Q3: Barbados bounced back almost immediately in the third quarter and started to even out the score line. A fortunate error by Wharton allowed Scotland to bring momentum back their way, and Scotland held tight to the control of the quarter from then on. The thistles finished the quarter 39-33 up heading into the last 15 minutes.

Q4: Barbados came storming into the final quarter, determined to regain control of the match, and clawed the score back to 39–36. Amazingly, the Thistles, with some impressive defensive work from Emily Nicholl and the cool shooting head of Lynsey Gallagher allowed Scotland to maintain their grip of this match. Final score 53–42.

Scotland maintained a tight grip on their final NWC match which seen them claiming 11^th in the NWC standings, an improvement upon their 12th-place finish in 2015.

Karen Atkinson is set to become the Vitality Netball Superleague’s first ever Technical Director in an innovative new move that will see the former Loughborough Lightning Director of Netball and ex-England International take on the strategic leadership of Scotland’s national Franchise, the Strathclyde Sirens.

Tasked with creating an ambitious and visionary strategy for the Sirens that not only delivers consistently improved performances in the VNSL, but also complements Netball Scotland’s new long term performance objectives and ambitions on the International stage, Karen will work alongside NS’s Head of Performance, Gail Parata, and University partners, University of Strathclyde, to create an enhanced and high performing performance pathway through Sirens.

Netball Scotland CEO, Claire Nelson, said of the appointment:

“Netball in Scotland has grown rapidly in recent years and our Superleague Franchise, Strathclyde Sirens, has really helped to put us on the map. We are proud to say that we have one of the most professional, dynamic and impactful brands in women’s sport in the UK today, and this year, as we head into a Netball World Cup, our Franchise has given our national athletes the unprecedented opportunity of being able to train and play together week in, week out, in what is undoubtedly one of the best domestic netball Leagues in the world.

However, we did not enter this League to prop it up and we are as committed as ever to being a team that is capable of challenging, and beating, any team on any day. We have an exceptional, full time professional business operation, an industry leading Arena, world class athlete support services, an award-winning brand that continues to raise the bar in women’s sport, and talented, passionate athletes. As we move into our next strategic cycle and look beyond this year’s Netball World Cup, now is the time for us to build upon the strong foundations of seasons 1-3 and raise our game to deliver a programme which enables our team and athletes to realise their full potential. We believe that Karen Atkinson has the skills, experience and passion to do this.’

Karen, who is based in Italy with her family and has been supporting ex-Siren player and current Loughborough Lightning Director of Netball, Sara Bayman, in her debut season, said of her new role:

“This is an extremely exciting opportunity and challenge.  I am looking forward to working with everyone at Strathclyde Sirens. I aim to create an outstanding high performance programme that will realise the potential of the players within the Scottish pathway as well as attract high quality players with the required work ethic, mindset and values.  Sirens already possess excellent people, facilities and resources. This creates a fantastic platform from which we can develop something very special.  I can’t wait to get started!”

Scotland’s elite netball team, the Strathclyde Sirens, return to Glasgow on Friday night to host their first home game of the 2019 season.  Playing 5-time league champions Team Bath, the Sirens have won this home fixture the last two seasons, and will be looking to make it three from three this week.

Following a successful trip to Birmingham last weekend, the Sirens brought home a win from their 1st round match against Surrey Storm (56-38), read the match report here.  We are relying on our amazing home crowds travelling from across Scotland to join us from 6.30pm on Friday 11th January and #BeTheNoise, to support our Scottish Thistles athletes and their Sirens teammates.  This year it is all about preparing the Thistles for the Netball World Cup in July, and these are the matches that are going to do exactly that.

Need a little taster of what you can expect from this seasons stellar Sirens line up? Check out the highlights from our Super 10 match against Surrey Storm on the Sky Sports website.

Tickets are available online, starting from just £7 (plus booking fee).  In addition, all Netball Scotland members can access an exclusive 25% discount through the code supplied on their membership confirmation email.  If you are a member of Netball Scotland but don’t have this information to hand, please contact membership@netballscotland.com or call the office on 0141 428 3460.

Unable to make it to Glasgow this week?  Don’t you worry!  We have a full season ahead of us which means you have lots of opportunities to get behind our team, our amazing mascot Serena (we cannot wait for you to meet her) and make this the best Vitality Netball Superleague Season yet!  For more information on the Strathclyde Sirens and their upcoming fixtures, please visit www.sirensnetball.com

We have the perfect Christmas gift ideas for the netballers in your lives.  We have season tickets, match day tickets, merchandise, camps and workshops – you name it, the Strathclyde Sirens have it!

The Strathclyde Sirens are Scotland’s biggest semi-professional national female sports team. Based in the world leading £113m Emirates Arena in Glasgow and competing in the UK wide Sky Sports broadcast Vitality Netball Superleague, the Sirens blazed their trail onto the scene two years ago and have been #ChangingTheGame for women’s sport in Scotland ever since.

Our team this year is a combination of Scotland’s top talent with no less than 8 Scottish Thistles signing for the team, as our National team continue their Netball World Cup 2019 preparations.  Playing in the Vitality Netball Superleague alongside New Zealander Cat Tuivaiti and Australian Gia Abernethy, our Thistles will be playing week in, week out against the UK’s elite netballers, and we cannot wait to be there alongside supporting them and getting behind our team.

#WeAreStrathclydeSirens..  Are you with us?  Find out more about our team, buy your branded merchandise and your Vitality Netball Superleague 2019 tickets, head over to from SirensNetball.com*

*remember, all Netball Scotland members have access to an EXCLUSIVE 25% discount on match day tickets, refer to your membership confirmation email for the discount code or email membership@netballscotland.com

From left to right: Nicola McCleery, Gia Abernethy, Emily Nicholl, Bethan Goodwin, Ella Gibbons, Cat Tuivaiti, Hayley Mulheron, Niamh McCall, Claire Maxwell, Kelly Boyle