Ryan sounds warning after drab display

Sara Bayman – named player of the match

MANCHESTER Thunder laboured to a 54-51 Superleague win over Celtic Dragons in Cardiff.

Thunder displayed patches of fluid and dominant form, but failed to make it count; they outscored Dragons in only one quarter.

It was a lacklustre and disappointing performance from the Black and Yellows and they will be relieved to leave Wales with a win.

Coach Dan Ryan expected more from his players: “Our focus was to be as clinical and consistent as possible as we haven’t won four quarters for a couple of weeks now. We were really conscious of winning all four against Cardiff, but it didn’t work out that way, which is pretty disappointing.

“We made a lot of basic errors in our decision-making and we played into their hands. “We didn’t learn from those mistakes and they kept happening. We need to rectify it as top-ranked teams will punish us.”

Eyebrows were raised before the first whistle with coach Ryan’s team selection. He chose Natalie Haythornthwaite as his shooter and dropped Helen Housby to the bench, with Kathryn Turner instead chosen to partner her in attack.

New Zealand import Liana Leota was brought straight back into the team after a two-game rest, and it looked like an exciting attacking front line in equal measure.

Ryan's gamble paid off to some extent, with Thunder starting with intent, but they tailed off near the end of the opening quarter and the sides went in level at the break.

There were moments of personal brilliance from the Black and Yellows, with Sara Bayman – named player of the match - constantly probing and working to control the momentum of Thunder’s play.

Ryan put faith in Ellie Cardwell for the second half and despite doing little wrong, she was sacrificed for the more familiar shooting pairing of Housby and Haythornthwaite in the final quarter as he attempted to put the tie to bed.

Thunder worked hard to edge themselves in front on several occasions throughout the match, including a 10-goal advantage in the final quarter, but they failed to push on and sloppy errors allowed Dragons to carry on the hope of a famous victory.