Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, London Pulse have won six of their seven matches this season
ByAlex BrothertonBBC Sport journalist- Published31 minutes ago
Funmi Fadoju and Kamogelo Maseko starred as London Pulse held off a spirited London Mavericks fightback to claim a 56-46 victory on the opening night of week seven of the Netball Super League.
The Pulse were without injured star goal shooter Liv Tchine for the second straight match, but Maseko and Sophie Kelly made up for her absence with 27 and 16 goals respectively.
"When you have someone like Liv out, you do realise we have so much other strength on the bench like Kamo [Maseko] and Sophie [Kelly]," player of the match Fadoju told Sky Sports.
"They work so hard in training to build those connections, it's working so well. I'm proud of the hard work they've been putting in, grinding every single session, how to do the triangles and the screens. They were so good."
Pulse raced into a 12-1 lead with barely 10 minutes on the clock, forcing Mavericks coach Tamsin Greenway to call an early tactical timeout.
Emma Thacker scored three two-point super shots as Mavericks cut the deficit to four points by the end of the third quarter.
However, Pulse finished the match strongly to claim a victory that moved them level on 18 points with league leaders Loughborough Lightning, who face Nottingham Forest on Saturday, 11 April (19:00 BST).
"We knew we had a very strong first quarter, but then had to push on. We know we let them back into the game," added Fadoju.
Pulse head coach Sam Bird said: "I'm pleased with how we finished the game. We showed we have a lot in the tank to finish strong."
On Saturday LexisNexis Dragons host Birmingham Panthers in Cardiff live on BBC Sport (16:00 BST), before Manchester Thunder take on Leeds Rhinos (17:00 BST).
