‘Patchy’ England denied as Jamaica snatch tie in series opener

England had to settle for a tie in their opening Horizon series match against Jamaica in Manchester after a dramatic last-second goal denied them victory.

Sunshine Girls shooter Shanice Beckford scored in the final second to clinch a 49-49 draw after England had led for three quarters.

The Roses had stretched a six-goal lead at half-time, but the visitors rallied in the final period to capitalise on mistakes from their hosts.

“It was an up and down game and there’s some errors we’re not pleased with,” said head coach Jess Thirlby.

“We were patchy. I imagine both teams will be ruing some of the opportunities missed, so on balance is it a fair result? Probably.

“Yes, we could’ve won the game but we could’ve easily lost the game. We have to be proud of finding a way to not lose because we know the game was up and down.”

The second match in the inaugural four-match series is on Sunday at 14:00 GMT and will be available to watch live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

The return matches will take place in the Jamaican capital Kingston on 25 and 26 November.

Jamaica had not played a full international test match since the 2023 World Cup, where they finished third, but disrupted the Roses’ flow in the opening quarter and were level at 13-13 after 15 minutes.

England were more controlled in the second quarter and Helen Housby sunk a last-second long shot to the delight of the home crowd and open up a six-goal lead at half-time.

Imogen Allison and Funmi Fadoju were effective in defence but often struggled to prevent the ball coming in to 6ft 4in shooter Romelda Aiken-George.

Thirlby made changes throughout the third quarter but the visitors tightened up in defence and closed the gap to just three to set up a tense final period.

Jamaica then took the lead halfway through the final quarter, before a vital interception from captain Fran Williams allowed England to move ahead.

But, in a frenetic final few minutes, both sides struggled to take the ball to goal with defensive brilliance on display at both ends.

Fadoju made two decisive interceptions in the final two minutes, before Shamera Sterling stepped in to nip the ball away from England’s Lois Pearson with seconds on the clock.

Aiken-George missed the resulting two shots, though, before Beckford gathered the rebound and scored to tie the match.

“Defensively we showed up in those moments but there were patches where we didn’t manage the game well enough,” added Thirlby.

“We haven’t lost but I think both teams know there were moments where they could take the game. This is a team that find a way to bounce back so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

England, who moved up to second in the world following the series win over New Zealand in October, are without shooter Eleanor Cardwell through injury, while Natalie Metcalf is also missing after announcing her pregnancy earlier this month.