Netball: Celtic Dragons 52 Severn Stars 53

Five down going into the final quarter, Stars' nine-goal run put the game beyond their opponents at Cardiff's Sport Wales National Centre.

Head coach Sam Bird said: “We started the match really well but Dragons came back hard at us and we lost our structure for a while.

"The players responded so well and clawed their way back into the match and put an amazing nine-goal run together in the last quarter.  "I’m delighted with their determination and resilience to take the win.”

Both teams went out hard from the start but Stars began positively with an early 3-1 lead.

They stretched the advantage to four but a misfired feed into the shooters saw Dragons get a goal back and they ended the quarter even at 14-14.

The second started with the teams neck and neck but a defensive tip from Stars' defensive unit and conversion from shooter Georgia Rowe made it 19-17.  Despite an eye-catching rebound from away defender Sam Cook, Dragons closed the gap to 22-22.

The home side pulled a few goals clear every couple of minutes but Stars answered back and fought for turnovers.

But the hosts led 31-27 at half-time as Stars fumbled the ball and failed to capitalise on turnovers.

Although the third quarter began with two goals from Stars, they could not take their next centre pass to goal and Dragons restored their lead of four at 33-29.

They then went on a five-goal run and Stars seemed to lose energy and momentum.

But there were promising signs with better retention of the ball as the quarter ended with Dragons 44-39 in front.

And in the final quarter Stars gained momentum with nine goals in a row unanswered.  At 47-47 patience in attack saw the score turn with Stars leading 51-48 with four minutes left.

They played smarter and were comfortable keeping possession.

With a minute left Dragons tried to make up the deficit but Stars edged the contest.

Sixth-placed Stars host second-from-bottom Strathclyde Sirens at the University of Gloucestershire Arena on Saturday (6pm).