TeAroha Keenan refused to make excuses for Team Northumbria’s winless debut at the Fast 5s All-Stars netball event at London’s O2 Arena.
And the frustrated Kiwi insisted her players were hurting after missing a golden opportunity to make a name for themselves on the national stage.
TN were the architects of their own downfall by failing to convert possession into points on their way to an agonising 19-18 defeat against eventual finalists Team Bath.
And the Sport Central club were blown away by Surrey Storm before a late rally added some respectability to the scoreline.
“There are no excuses and I’m not looking for any,” said Keenan. “We knew what we had to do in the second match - we knew defeat meant we were going home.
“We came all the way down to London expecting to do so much better. We wanted to repay the staff behind the scenes for putting together an exciting team.
“And we wanted to show the fans just how much it means to pull on the TN dress.
“I know the players are feeling bad - they wanted to put on a show. It’s a tough one to take but we just didn’t score enough points.”
TN failed to capitalise on both of their powerplays - two-minute periods when points count double - with a succession of long-range efforts falling short.
Defensively Keenan’s side were on fire from the start with Global All-Star pick Erena Mikaere giving Bath’s attackers no space at all.
But it was at the other end where TN’s problems piled up with veteran Kiwi Daneka Tuineau and former Maverick Sophie Hankin struggling to hit the target.
“Perhaps expectations were too high where Sophie was concerned and it just didn’t happen for Daneka,” added Keenan.
“What we needed to do was keep the scoreboard ticking over from the start. We needed to find some rhythm and stay focused - we’d talked about that in training.
“We were set up to do so much better and I think we know we had a chance to go further.”
Keenan will now focus on assembling her 2018 Superleague squad ahead of February’s season opener.
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