Source :- THE AGE NEWS
The Australian Diamonds have secured bronze at the Commonwealth Games, overcoming the heartache of yesterday’s loss and triumphing over England in front of a packed crowd at the Hydro.
Constant cheers of “Let’s go England, Let’s Go” and boos echoed around the stadium but it had no impact on Australia, who cruised to a win 68-50.
“It’s a bit bittersweet, it’s not the game we wanted to play in,” Diamonds vice-captain Kate Moloney told broadcasters.
They will be a little disappointed but the Diamonds will finish with a win and a medal after winning the bronze medal match today.
The Diamonds beat England 68-50 in a comfortable win in which they were never properly challenged by a Roses side who never found a way to replace star goal attack Helen Housby who was out for this competition.
“It’s flat as a tack in this stadium,” Cox said during commentary for Seven.
“Everyone is just holding on for the gold medal game.”
New Zealand and Jamaica will play for the gold medal at 10pm AEST with the game on Seven Plus and Seven.
Just a casual 80 laps later, and all three Australian riders qualify for the men’s points race final.
Blake Agnoletto and Conor Leahy are through in the first heat, before Oliver Bleddyn qualifies in the second heat.
The final will be double the length of qualifying which means it’s a 160-lap race in the final.
Next up, it’s the men’s C1-C3 3000m individual pursuit qualifying.
I don’t think I’ve ever been at a game where the umpire has been so vocal, and he’s focusing a lot of his attention on Aussie defenders.
He reprimanded Australia’s Courtney Bruce earlier in the third quarter, telling the veteran defender, who is playing in goalkeeper to “stop grabbing her opponents”.
Later on, the umpire’s exasperated voice said “Don’t be silly just stand there”, prompting laughs from the crowd.
England looked stunned for much of this match but they’ve found some life in the third term bringing much-loved shooter Eleanor Cardwell on and moving to a sliding, zone-like defence which is making the Aussie feeders second-guess their entry passes.
It might be too little, too late but they have nothing to lose at this stage.
Diamonds 48-35 England with 40 seconds to go in Q3.
It’s half-time, and I obviously don’t want to jinx things but the Diamonds are looking pretty good, boasting a 11-goal lead.
Right near the media box, I can see fan-favourite Eleanor Cardwell warming up on the sidelines doing a few lunges and stretches.
The veteran shooter looks like she might be subbed on soon.
UPDATED: Both Scotland’s Lauren Bell and Wales’ Rhian Edmunds are up and ok, but leave the track with assistance.
For Bell, it looked like a left shoulder injury, while Edmunds was a bit unsteady on her feet.
That crash was in the last of our three qualifying heats, of which two Australians made it through. Alessia McCaig and Kristina Clonan will be in the women’s keirin final later, but Liliya Tatarinoff will have to find something a little extra in the repechage round if she wants to qualify after finishing third in her heat.
There were a shaky few minutes but the Diamonds seem to have found their groove to lead the first quarter 19-11.
At first, it looked like Australia might be in for a rough game, with a missed shot and some shaky throws.
But then the Diamonds found their rhythm, overpowering England’s defences to snatch an eight-goal lead.
The umpires appear to be taking a stricter approach today, issuing multiple contacts and obstructions to both England and Australia’s goalkeepers.
To maintain this lead, the Diamonds will need to keep this energy up and ignore the crowd, which are anti-Australia once again.
Yesterday’s racing finished with a crash, and that’s exactly how racing begins today in the women’s keirin qualification.
There’s a wobble on the turn with two laps to go and Scotland’s Lauren Bell and Rhian Edmunds from Wales hit the deck.
It was hard to see which caused the crash, but both riders are getting medical attention and remain on the track.
Hi folks
I’m here at the Hydro where our Aussie Diamonds are taking on England. I’m not going to lie, there’s a weird feeling in the air. This is absolutely new territory for Australia, who have never not been in contention for the gold medal.
However, after losing to Jamaica yesterday, the Diamonds are playing for bronze today.
