Wins for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man in first morning action Europe Netball Combined Events

Gibraltar U17 coaches would have watched with great interest the match between the Isle of Man and Switzerland. Whilst the Isle of Man has been among one of the tough competitors Gibraltar has faced in the past, Switzerland was somewhat of an unknown quantity. The early moments of the Europe Netball Challenge division match provided some interesting perspectives, with Switzerland proving to be a stern opponent, staying on par with their rivals until the latter minutes of the first quarter. The Isle of Man stretched the four-point gap to a seven-point gap at 15-8 with a minute left in the quarter, adding further points in the final seconds to take it to 17-8 and deal a confidence blow to the Swiss, who had started strongly.

The Isle of Man returned to the court after the short break with the same confidence they had shown in the latter stages of the first quarter, steadily increasing their tally to go 20-10 ahead within minutes. With Switzerland allowing the Isle of Man space to play, it was inevitable to see the Isle of Man stretch their lead further to 24-11 before Switzerland responded. The Isle of Man led at halftime with a 28-16 scoreline.

Earlier in the morning, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland had taken center stage at the Tercentenary Sports Hall. The Republic of Ireland, who had been promoted earlier this year after winning the playoff against Northern Ireland, were met by the full force of a Scotland side with ample experience in the championship division. Although not willing to yield, and constantly battling away, the Republic of Ireland saw Scotland head for their first victory with a 50-37 scoreline.

The U17 combine event also saw matches played at the Europa Sports Complex simultaneously. In the early morning session, UAE met with Wales at Europa, with Wales walking away with an emphatic 58-39 victory, stamping their mark on the Championship division and setting the tone. With England yet to take to the court, two of the big guns in the division had already set a standard to follow, which would set the tone for the weekend.

In the Challenge division, as the Isle of Man were walking away with victory, the Europa Sports Complex saw an Israel team, who had been defeated the previous evening, take to the court again, this time against Northern Ireland. After just 8 minutes of play, Northern Ireland were already 9-3 ahead on the scoreboard, although Israel was showing a resilience that would have been of interest to Gibraltar observers. Unlike Gibraltar's dominance in the previous encounter against Israel, Northern Ireland were finding it harder to break through the Israeli side's midcourt to defense lines. Northern Ireland, nevertheless, headed into the first-quarter break with a 20-3 lead, with Israel showing tired legs and facing a second big defeat.

Northern Ireland did not ease their pace as they entered the second quarter, adding to their tally and soon reaching 25 points. Even with seven minutes left before halftime, Northern Ireland had already dug deep into Israel's confidence as they tallied up the points, leading 31-4 and settling into the game to score freely.

Having just dropped from the Championship division, Northern Ireland, after a short spell in which they had allowed Israel to put pressure on their game, had settled into what was a top-tier flow of play, which would leave teams like Gibraltar noting as they prepared for Sunday's match against them. Northern Ireland went into the halftime break with a 42-14 lead, having scored more than Gibraltar had against Israel by halftime.

The Europe Netball Combined event, with matches being played across two venues, although stretching spectators across two different areas of Gibraltar, was providing quite some entertainment for a Friday morning for netball enthusiasts online. Matches played simultaneously and livestreamed with commentaries for both matches saw, even for the Challenge division considered the lower of the two divisions, several hundred watching live at the same time from across the globe.

In the Isle of Man versus Switzerland match, taking place at the same time, the Isle of Man did not ease off their pace, although Switzerland did not sit back. A 32-17 scoreline in the third quarter with ten minutes left to play was presenting itself as an interesting encounter, although the Isle of Man was starting to look as the rivals Gibraltar was expecting they would be, with Gibraltar being their next opponents this Friday evening. Switzerland, much improved in recent years, were showing that they were a side to watch out for. With seven minutes of the third quarter left, both sides were level on the points scored in the quarter at 5-5. The Isle of Man, at 33-21, was being pushed hard by Switzerland. Nevertheless, the Isle of Man dug deep to prod at Switzerland's defense, and with a minute left, they were already on forty points against Switzerland's 25. This was a blow to Switzerland's morale, who conceded further points, finishing the quarter at 41-25.

The Isle of Man upped their game further as they searched for the points that could be crucial in the final positions. The fourth quarter saw them go 51-27 ahead with six minutes still left on the clock, with the Swiss team finding it hard to contain the momentum and pinned back with few chances of their own. The pace of the match was, however, one focal point for Gibraltar observers, with the Isle of Man having less than six hours of rest time between matches. Their next opponents, hosts Gibraltar, who would have had a 24-hour break between matches and were already known for their quick passing game and energetic displays.

With the rules allowing for points to be won by the losing team if they score 50% or more points against their rivals' tally, Switzerland played for important points. The match finishing Isle of Man 59-30 Switzerland meant that the Isle of Man won with a confidence-boosting scoreline but fell short in denying Switzerland from being in the points scoring zone.

Although Israel did halt Northern Ireland in their scoring spree in the early part of the third quarter, Northern Ireland went on to win with an emphatic 72-11 victory, setting the tone for the rest of the Challenge division, especially for hosts Gibraltar, who face them on the final day of matches.