THE Scottish Thistles were beaten but unbowed after losing 42-48 to Fiji in the final match of the qualification rounds at the 2015 Netball World Cup in Sydney.
It was a courageous effort by the Scots against the no. 7 seeds in what proved to be a nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat encounter from the outset.
Scotland led 15-13 after a strong first quarter in which the impressive driving and feeding from Claire Brownie helped keep the Thistles in front.
Pressure from the Fiji Pearls' defence saw the scores level early in the second quarter. Both sides attacked strongly, but inaccuracies under the post cost Scotland and saw Fiji lead 26-25 at half-time.
Fiji took a six-goal lead into the final term and as the match concluded it was the same deficit which separated the two sides.
The Thistles, currently ranked 11th in the world, will now face the no. 10 seeded Trinidad and Tobago Calypso Girls in the play-offs tomorrow morning.
The winner will secure a spot in the 9th and 10th placing match on Sunday. A loss would see them contest 11th and 12th positions.
Gail Parata, national coach of the Scottish Thistles, was philosophical in her post-match analysis as she looked ahead to the weekend's action.
"Although we lost to Fiji I thought we played some of our best netball," she said. "We had longer patches of good play in comparison to other matches where we would go in and out with our consistency.
"We had 10 more attempts at goal than Fiji. However, we knew if it came down to shooting accuracy they would beat us on that. So we had to be safer with our passes – which we were – but it wasn't enough to beat Fiji.
"Trinidad and Tobago are playing some very good netball," she added. "Past results against them mean nothing at the Netball World Cup. It will be another tough match for us, but we are ready to meet the challenge."
The 12-strong Scottish Thistles squad comprises Hayley Mulheron (captain), Claire Brownie (vice captain), Rachel Forbes, Lynsey Gallagher, Lesley MacDonald, June McNeill, Fiona Moore-McGrath, Sam Murphy, Jo Pettitt, Gemma Sole, Bethany Sutherland and Fiona Themann.
All but upcoming star 18-year-old Sutherland were part of Team Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last summer.
Sole – the daughter of former Scotland and Lions Test prop David Sole – said earlier this week that a ninth place finish in the Netball World Cup was viewed by the Thistles as "our gold medal."
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