With less than 3 months to go until Netball London Live 2018 we take a look back over the previous 4 editions of the annual netball spectacular ahead of Surrey Storm’s first ever meeting with Loughborough Lightning at the Copper Box Arena.2014: Surrey Storm 52-50 Hertfordshire Mavericks
London Live made its eagerly awaited debut on Saturday 8th March 2014 with the whole netball world excited to see two of the Superleague’s biggest rivals go head-to-head in the capital for the first time.
Following its birth for London 2012 two years previous, the Copper Box Arena hosted professional netball for the 1st time as a record-breaking 3000+ fans descended on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to see Storm host
Hertfordshire Mavericks in what was set to become one of the Superleague season’s most anticipated fixtures.
A strong 1st half saw England pairing Tamsin Greenway and Rachel Dunn linking up well to hand Storm an 8-goal lead at the midway break.
Katie Harris hit the court in the 2nd half to add fresh attacking angles, allowing the hosts to extend their lead to 10 goals heading into the final stanza.
Not wanting the event to go out without a bang, Mavericks charged back into the game thanks to the power of the infamous Corbin sisters, pulling the deficit down to just 5 goals early on. Storm were strong enough to hold on though, with their patience in possession proving vital in the final 10 seconds to secure a debut London Live win.
2015: Surrey Storm 55-42 Hertfordshire Mavericks
More than 6,000 netball fans packed into the Copper Box Arena for London Live part 2 in March 2015, setting yet another domestic attendance record with a sell out crowd.
A finely poised 1st half saw neither side able to break away from the other, with goal for goal periods resulting in a half time stalemate.
Fans’ favourite Mikki Austin came off the bench during the interval to inject some grit into the battle on court and it was her arrival that proved pivotal in pushing Storm to a 5 goal lead after 3 quarters.
Mavericks piled on the pressure late in the game but Storm’s defensive pairing of Hannah Reid and Katie Holland provided multiple turnover opportunities for the shooters to finish, securing Storm a hat-trick of London Live victories with a 13 goal triumph.
Storm went on to return to the Copper Box just a few months later to lift their first ever Superleague trophy following an incredible season.
2016: Surrey Storm 50-55 Hertfordshire Mavericks
Storm made their return to the Copper Box Arena following their historic Grand Final win as the only side unbeaten in at the Olympic venue, but Mavericks arrived determined to make their mark on the big stage.
The scores were all square the 1st break before Mavericks went on an early 3-9 run in the 2ndquarter thanks to some sharp shooting from Sophie Hankin. This momentum swing pushed the visitors to a 20-27 lead at the break.
A plethora of half time changes across court for Storm injected some energy into their comeback, but they were only able to reduce the deficit by a single goal in the 3rd quarter.
With Sophia Candappa feeding quicker balls into England stalwarts Dunn and Pamela Cookey, goals started to drop for Storm but it was too little too late as Mavericks stole the London Live crown for the 1st time.
2017: Surrey Storm 67-45 Hertfordshire Mavericks
With two Superleague titles now under their belts, it was time for Storm to take revenge on Mavericks and steal back the London Live accolade. Unbeaten in their opening 3 games of the season, the hosts were favourites to take another Copper Box victory.
Storm looked lively in their opening exchanges, with Megan Craig shooting confidently to give her side a 7-2 lead early on before pushing the advantage to 8 goals on the half time whistle.
Holland piled on the pressure in Q3 to force Mavericks into a number of turnovers as Storm took the period 21-11, pushing the game out of the visitors’ reach and securing the duck egg blue army a dominating win to take into the 2018 event.
2018: Surrey Storm vs Loughborough Lightning
Storm will host new London Live rivals Loughborough Lightning at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday 23rd March as the 2017 table-toppers feature in the annual event for the first time!
Taking place in the final round of the regular season, could either Storm or Lightning secure top of the table in the big game?
Get your tickets online now at www.netballlondonlive.com.
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