Late comeback not enough for struggling Mystics
A win for the Northern Mystics is proving elusive.
Five games into netball’s ANZ Premiership season, the Mystics remain bottom of the ladder, suffering another loss yesterday, this time against the Mainland Tactix.
Going down 52-48 at Nelson’s Trafalgar Centre, the Northern side showed little improvement other than a hard-fought final quarter which secured a bonus point.
Frustrated Mystics captain Phoenix Karaka said despite the late fightback, the performance wasn’t good enough.
“To start like that and be down by 10 in the first quarter, I’m sorry, but that’s not ANZ [Premiership] netball,” Karaka said. “We need to be working harder to grind on that attack and just get the ball in the hoop, that’s all we need to do.
“It’s just about getting our mindset in the right place and having the confidence within ourselves to just do the game plan.”
The Tactix dominated from the start, with their connections flowing effortlessly across the court, as young midcourters Kimiora Poi and Samon Nathan displayed their impressive on-court combination with shooter Ellie Bird.
The Mystics shooting duo of Bailey Mes and Jamie Hume continued to struggle under the hoop, to the frustration of their defensive unit, who earned plenty of turnover ball.
Falling behind by more than 10 goals in the second quarter, the Mystics had plenty of work to do. Mystics and Silver Ferns defender Erena Mikaere became relentless in the shooting circle against Bird, while Karaka did her best to direct her side.
But the Tactix continued to frustrate the Mystics and head coach Helene Wilson was soon making changes.
Calling Hume to the bench, Wilson brought on high school student Grace Nweke, who has only recently stepped up to Premiership level.
The 17-year-old confidently handled the pressure of going up against Tactix captain and Silver Ferns defender Jane Watson, netting 32 goals from 37 attempts in just her third appearance for the side.
With the Mystics 15 goals down, Wilson continued to shuffle her players in the final quarter in a desperate bid to close the gap, and in a sudden swing of momentum, the visitors surged to dominate the final minutes of the game.
The Mystics closed to within four goals but it was too little, too late as the Tactix held their lead to deliver the home crowd the win.
The Mystics have a week to regroup before facing the Stars when they host the second Super Sunday of the season at Auckland’s Trusts Arena, while the Southern Steel and the Central Pulse meet in a top-of-thetable clash tonight.