Carnegie fail to weather Storm

by Joseph Fitzpatrick

Leeds Carnegie suffered their sixth defeat of the Fiat Superleague season on Sunday, losing out 61-46 to play-off hopefuls Surry Storm.

After their 77-49 away loss to Surry Storm less than a month ago, the omens for Carnegie going into Sunday's fixture were as dark as their fake tan, and the Yorkshire team found themselves trailing by six goals within four minutes. Storm held a five goal advantage after the opening ten minutes, with a difference in class between the two teams clearly evident.

Carnegie improved in the second quarter, with the defence managing to turn the ball over, however the attack lacked cohesion in the final third. Storm came out in the second half and lived up to their names by blowing Leeds away- it was almost as if the competiveness of the second quarter had insulted the Surry team, who scored eight unanswered goals to begin the third.

Leeds were powerless to prevent the away team's England attack of Rachel Dunne, and Tamsin Greenway, neither of whom ever looked like they exerted past third gear. A 17 goal deficit at the start of the fourth quarter effectively ensured the result was beyond doubt, and Surry let up, allowing Leeds to gain the consolation of wining the period 14-11.

Next up for Carnegie are Loughborough Lightning, in a crucial mid-table clash that is likely to have a huge impact on where Leeds finish at the end of the season.