Tamsin Greenway says England’s lack of attacking changes were “costly” in the Nations Cup defeat to South Africa and believes Alicia Scholes should have come on earlier.
The Vitality Roses were edged out 61-59 in Nottingham last weekend as Jess Thirlby’s side suffered their first defeat of the competition after beating Malawi in their opener.
Ahead of this Saturday’s match against Uganda, live on Sky Sports, Greenway has called on England to freshen up their line-up quicker.
“We said it was going to be a close game [against South Africa]. We know the history of these two going against each other and they match up very well,” Greenway said.
Alicia Scholes could have come on earlier for England against South Africa, says Tamsin Greenway
“It went goal for goal, there were lots of lessons from it. I am surprised we didn’t see an attacking change from England.
“I think they are going to regret that decision because I think it was really costly at the end.
“I think I would have liked to have seen Scholes enter the game first, just to see what happens.
“Just remember you have Amy Carter on the bench as well. Maybe Emma Thacker needed to come on early, not in the last quarter.
“I think it got very static in the circle as there was not much movement. So you have either got to change something out of the front to deliver the ball better.”
‘England played better in SA defeat than Malawi win’
Greenway was also quick to highlight the attacking ability of South Africa, who could renew their rivalry with England again in Sunday’s final.
“Jess Shaw, was on 23 feeds, it was solid but when you look at (Khanyisa) Chawane, who was on 31 feeds, it just sparked that difference, that attacking prowess.
England head coach Jess Thirlby was pleased with her team’s performance against South Africa, despite slipping to defeat
“The difference between a Chawane and a (Kamogelo) Maseko, in terms of the dynamic they have entering the circle, ours got very lost and actually that’s where we made all the errors, it was very costly at times.
“Whether they change the personnel or whether they go tactically different, I didn’t see that through the 60 minutes.”
Thirlby remained positive despite the result and insisted that England produced a better performance than they showed in the 62-36 win over Malawi.
She told Sky Sports: “I thought there was a lot of good stuff. Actually, most probably a better performance than [the Malawi] game, but not the same result and that’s the bit we’ve got to hold on to for next weekend.”
Highlights from England’s 62-36 victory over Malawi in the Netball Nations Cup
When asked about the need for earlier attacking changes, Thirlby said: “I think it’s difficult, they’ve been excellent and then we had the one that hit the post and rebounded into the hands of the South Africans.
“It’s whether or not you kneejerk to that or you trust in the previous 45 minutes that you’ve seen, and, in that moment, I trusted the smarts of Jess (Shaw).
“Of course we can look to make those changes. I believed in that group and I wanted to give them the chance to have a go.”
Watch the Netball Nations Cup live on Sky Sports Mix this weekend. England take on Uganda on Saturday (4.30pm on air, 5pm start) after South Africa face Malawi (2.30pm on air, 3pm start), before the third-place play-off and final are held on Sunday (1.30pm and 4pm respectively)
