Commonwealth Games: England beat Jamaica to reach final for first time
- From the section Commonwealth Games
Media playback is not supported on this device
| 2018 Commonwealth Games |
|---|
| Venue: Gold Coast, Australia Dates: 4-15 April |
| Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV and Red Button with extra streams on Connected TVs, BBC Sport website and app; listen on Radio 5 live; follow text updates online. Times and channels |
England made history by reaching their first Commonwealth Games netball final with a dramatic comeback over Jamaica in the semi-finals.
Jo Harten netted the winner with one second left to play to put into England into Sunday's final against Australia or New Zealand.
England were six goals down at half-time, but recovered to win 56-55.
England have not reached a global final since 1975 and have never won a major title.
"What a comeback for our girls," said England head coach Tracey Neville. "As a player I only dreamed to be in this situation, but I was never good enough. It's great to live my dream through these and they've just done so well."
Since netball was first played at the Commonwealth Games in 1998, all five finals have been contested by Australia and New Zealand.
And only twice in the history of both the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games has the final not been played between the two trans-Tasman rivals.
- Day-to-day guide to Gold Coast 2018
- What's on when: Full Games schedule
- BBC Sport's coverage times and channels
England came into Saturday's semi-final with three victories in their five previous Commonwealth meetings with Jamaica.
The Sunshine Girls had twice beaten them in the bronze-medal match - in Manchester in 2002 and at Glasgow 2014 - and looked to have denied England once again as Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt watched on from the stands.
The Roses looked nervy from the outset as they struggled to contain 6ft 6in Jamaican shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, who dominated the shooting circle.
Fowler-Reid ended the first half with a 100% record in front of goal, while defender Shamera Sterling outplayed Harten at the other end.
Neville made early changes and when Eboni Beckford-Chambers came on at goal defence at half-time, England began their charge.
England won a crucial third quarter 16-14 to trail by only three going into the final 15 minutes and led in the closing stages, only for Jamaica to level the scores at 55-55 with 30 seconds to play.
England had the centre pass, but the game looked to be heading to extra-time when Helen Housby missed with seven seconds left on the clock.
However, Harten, restored to the shooting circle, claimed the rebound and netted to give England the best result in their history.
