Posted 24th Jan 2019

“We can’t wait to see our home fans again” – Blue & Gold ‘super excited’ ahead of Surrey Storm Superleague showdown

Anna Stembridge says she is “super excited” ahead of Team Bath Netball’s first home game of the 2019 Vitality Superleague season – Monday’s televised showdown against Surrey Storm.

The Sitec-sponsored Blue & Gold go into the match (7pm centre-pass – click here to purchase tickets) as the only team to have won their opening two Superleague fixtures so far thanks to encouraging victories over Celtic Dragons at Super 10 and Strathclyde Sirens in Scotland.

Head Superleague Coach Stembridge was particularly pleased with the performance and result in the latter game as a Team Bath squad without England stars Eboni Usoro-Brown and Serena Guthrie overcame a strong fourth-quarter fightback from Sirens to win 55-45.

“Sirens is always a hard place to go but we produced a performance of real grit and character,” she said. “It was really impressive to see our young squad step up and show such strength and composure, it felt like a real step forward compared to previous seasons.”

Imogen Allison has enjoyed a strong start to the season. PICTURES: Eliza Hope Photography

University of Bath student Imogen Allison wore the captain’s armband for the Sirens game and led by example with another excellent performance at wing-defence, building on her player of the match display in the 58-41 victory over Dragons.

“Eboni and Serena are co-captains this season but we have leaders right across the squad,” said Stembridge. “Imogen was captain against Sirens, as she was for the Fast 5 tournament, and she really delivered both in leading the team and in her own personal performance.”

While Usoro-Brown and Guthrie were helping England finish runners-up in a world-class Quad Series last weekend, the rest of the Team Bath squad kept things ticking over with a training session against the Knight’s national men’s team.

“It’s the second time that Knights have trained with us this season and the sessions have been of a really good standard both times,” Stembridge added. “It was a great opportunity to work on different combinations that we haven’t had chance to use in the first couple of games.

“We are super excited for our first home game of the season, nothing beats playing in the Team Bath Arena and we can’t wait to see our home fans again.

“Storm have lost their first two matches but they certainly cannot be underestimated, especially as they will have their two South African players [Sigi Burger and Shadine Van Der Merwe] back. We know they will definitely give us another big test but we are looking forward to it.”

Doors open for the Storm game at 6pm and tickets are available to purchase by clicking here.

The Superleague match will be preceded at 4.30pm by a U21 NPL match between Team Bath and Surrey Storm, again in the Team Bath Arena, that is free for spectators to watch.

Team Bath Netball are sponsored by Sitec and supported by partners Mogers DrewettSoldi and Netball South WestCenturion Chartered Financial Planners are supporting the team’s performance analysis and people development capabilities, Viper 10 are their Sportswear Supplier and Skins provide the team with compression wear.

Other news articles

Team Bath Netball stars help local schoolchildren enjoy day of sporting fun in partnership with Bath Recreation

Young pupils at Twerton Infant School enjoyed an inspirational day of sporting fun at the University of Bath, thanks to Team Bath Netball and their partners at Bath Recreation Limited. Around 50 children in School Years 1 and 2...

Read More
In-form mid-courter Lucy Button elevated to Team Bath Netball NXT Gen League squad ahead of sell-out season opener

Dynamic defensive mid-courter Lucy Button has been added to the Team Bath Netball squad for the 2025 NXT Gen League season, which starts in early February with a sell-out home fixture against Nottingham Forest. Button, who plays wing-defence and...

Read More
A composite picture of the University of Bath student performance netball 1st and 2nd squads, who have both won their respective BUCS Premier Division South title in the 2024-25 season
Double delight as Bath student netballers both win BUCS Premier Division South titles on same day

Students on the University of Bath performance netball programme are celebrating a first-ever BUCS Premier Division South title double. A wonderful Wednesday at the Team Bath Sports Training Village saw the 1st beat Exeter 68-37 to secure the Premier...

Read More
Team Bath Netball Sponsors
Partners and Suppliers