London Pulse head coach Sam Bird insists her side have shown enough ambition and character to retain their Netball Super League title after ending Loughborough Lightning's unbeaten run at Stratford's Copper Box Arena last Sunday.
In this huge table topper encounter that could potentially end up as a dress rehearsal for next month's NSL
Play-Off Grand Final, Kissimmee Player Of The Match Olivia Tchine sank in eight goals, including five two-point super shots, in a ferociously feisty extra time period to help the glamorous pink and blacks win 75-71.
Overall goal shooting specialist and University of East London graduate Tchine, 25, scored 25 goals, Kamolego Maseko got 8 while Lightning's Ella Clark topscored with 24 goals.
The victory was not enough to knock East Midlander's Lightning off top spot, who incidentally despite the defeat picked up a bonus point that puts them on 28 points to Pulse's 27 after ten rounds and they also have the better goal difference of plus three.
"In terms of grit and determination plus the character they showed in those tight moments we were pretty much behind the whole of the game," Bird told Sky Sports.
"I'm just really proud of their resilience when they were given new challenges by Lightning, who themselves were outstanding. I'm just really pleased they sort of rode over that.
"I think most people would have predicted Lightning before this game. I know they had some players injured but you could only play what's in front of you.
"In fact the different combinations Lightning had sort of sets a new challenge because we hadn't analysed that so I think it shows where we are, our tenacity and our ambition to retain our title is there. It's just the attitude that I thought was on display from our players is really pleasing for us as coaches."
Pulse's remaining four fixtures of the 2026 regular season sees them face teams who are also competing for the remaining two play-off places.
First up is a trip to Liverpool's M&S Arena this Saturday (May 9) where they face third place Manchester Thunder.
A week later on May 17, they meet near local rivals London Mavericks at OVO Arena, Wembley before returning to Copper Box Arena on May 24 to entertain Cardiff-based LexisNexis Dragons. Their regular season concludes with an away encounter on May 31 at Nottingham Forest.
"We've got some difficult games away from home," Bird added. "We've got Manchester Thunder next week and Nottingham Forest to play as well. LexisNexis Dragons are now coming to form so are London Mavericks who we face at Wembley so we haven't got an easy run in."
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