Pulse beat Thunder to go top of Super League

London Pulse produced a determined display to move back to the top of the Netball Super League with a 58-48 win at Manchester Thunder.

Pulse were 17-10 in front after the first quarter but the hosts reduced the deficit to three points as the visitors led 27-24 at half-time.

However, Pulse stepped up their game and were 44-37 up at the end of the third quarter before going on to secure victory.

Olivia Tchine scored a game-high 27 goals for Pulse, while Elmere van der Berg scored 23 for the Thunder, who remain third with one round of fixtures to go before the play-offs.

"The second quarter, in particular, was a bit disappointing," said London Pulse head coach Sam Bird.

"We just took our foot off the pedal a little bit. We just lost a little bit of focus. That is certainly something I want to be improving on.

"When they got their brains back together and they came out really hard I thought they did really well.

"It's a difficult place to come. It's really good for the players to play that well away."

The three points meant Pulse are two points clear of second-placed Loughborough Lightning.

Both teams are guaranteed a top two finish and will contest the major semi-final in the play-offs, external with the winner going through to the final.

The loser will face the winner of the minor semi-final between third and fourth - which will be between Manchester Thunder and London Mavericks - to determine the other finalist.

Loughborough Lightning had briefly gone top of the table with a dominant 79-58 win against London Mavericks on Friday.

Lightning, who have won three of the previous four Grand Finals, were in control throughout and opened a 23-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

That set the tone for the contest, with Samantha Wallace-Joseph finishing with 24 goals for the victors, and Ella Clark and Berri Neil also impressing with 14 and 13 goals respectively.

Emily Andrew contributed 24 goals for the fourth-placed Mavericks.

Birmingham Panthers won 75-69 in the opening match of the round on Thursday.

On Sunday, Georgia Rowe scored 43 goals to help bottom side Cardiff Dragons beat Leeds Rhinos 60-52 and move within a point of their opponents in the table.