England U17 claim Europe Netball U17 Championship gold
England made it two out of two winning the Under 17 Europe Netball Championship for the second times.
The final match of the Europe Netball event saw Scotland face England in what was expected to be a thrilling finale to the combined Championship and Challenge event.
With both unbeaten there was a lot to play for, the winner guaranteed the championship title.
After seeing Northern Ireland bounce back to claim a right for promotion from the Challenge division, the crowd at the Tercentenary Sports Hall were to be treated to another excellent display of top youth netball.
After a very tight start to the match in which Scotland managed to stay on par with England on the score, the latter was to eventually open a gap between the two which they were not to lose sight of throughout.
England, forecast as the favorites, showed why they had been described as such as they headed to tally a 60 point scoreline once again. This however, the first time in the tournament they had scored less than seventy points.
They were not to miss out scoring the final sixtieth point with just five seconds remaining. Scotland did not miss out on match points scoring more than half the tally required with the final score seeing England win 60-34. The match completing what was described as a “fantastic event” by commentators hosted in Gibraltar.
Notably the Under 17 tournament was a testing ground for Gibraltar which although no official comment had yet been made had received unofficial thumbs up by many officials organising the event. The use of two venues, the transition from one venue to the next alongside the security and logistics having see the Europe netball event working seamlessly for spectators and fans. In some cases audiences of close to a thousand viewers watching the simultaneous livestreamed events, two matches at a time which brought netball not just to the stands but also to audiences globally. This a challenge for Gibraltar as they prepare for next year’s World Youth Championships.