London Pulse start their 2021 Superleague campaign against Surrey Storm this Saturday at the Studio 001 in Wakefield.
This will be Pulse’s first competitive fixture for 11 months after Covid-19 bought an untimely end to their 2020 Superleague season, in which they won all of their three games before the lockdown last March.
“We Can Be Contenders”
Speaking to London Pulse’s official website ahead of the new season, CEO and head coach Samantha Bird hopes they can build on their promising and brief 2020 Superleague season, saying:
“The entire London Pulse squad is so excited to get back onto the court and into league action on the 13th. Before the premature end to the 2020 season, this squad was able to show the exciting and dynamic style of netball that we can produce.
“Whilst the off-season has been long, we have used our time together as a squad to build on that determination and develop as a team. We may still be a young team in this league but have no doubt about it: we believe we can be contenders.”
Mixed Fortunes
Pulse have made strong additions to their squad during the off-season and will be encouraged by their recent narrow defeat to pre-tournament favourites Manchester Thunder, where a poor opening two minutes in the final quarter cost them the game. This game came after running the fearsome Loughborough Lightning close and beating Celtic Dragons in a comprehensive win.
In comparison, Storm’s season got off to the worst possible start with the news that new signing Lauren Tait will miss the entire Superleague season because of a knee injury picked up on international duty, meaning extra pressure will now fall onto new signing Felisitus Kwangwa to hit the ground running in defence.
Neutral Venues
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, all Superleague games will be played at a neutral venue, absent of fans. Pulse will travel to Wakefield for the first nine weeks of the season and will play the remainder of their season at their very own CopperBox Arena.
While Bird says she is “disappointed” that fans won’t be able to attend matches in person, she is “delighted” that all matches will be available to watch on Sky Sports. Pulse’s official social media accounts will also broadcast all of Pulse’s matches.
