NETBALL - 2006 COMM GAMES BRONZE MEDAL MATCH - ENGLAND vs JAMAICA

NETBALL - 2006 COMM GAMES BRONZE MEDAL MATCH - ENGLAND vs JAMAICA BOURNEMOUTH netball star Geva Mentor claimed Commonwealth Games bronze as she and her England team-mates earned sweet revenge on Jamaica in a thrilling play-off. The Caribbean nation had deprived the England girls of a medal four years before in Manchester with victory in the bronze medal game. So the last-gasp 53-52 victory on the final day of the Melbourne Games tasted all the sweeter for Mentor and England. The 52-40 defeat to hosts Australia in the semi-final the previous day had left England with one last shot at claiming a medal. But they looked set to miss out again as they trailed 29-22 at the halfway mark, goalkeeper Mentor, a former East Dorset star, struggling to contain Jamaican shooter Elaine Davis. A stirring showing in the second half of the absorbing contest turned the game back in England's favour, however, and they pulled the score back to 40-38 by the end of the third quarter. And with less than a minute to go, goal shooter Pamela Cookey netted the decisive goal to hand her side a deserved medal. England captain Olivia Murphy told BBC Sport: "We were so disappointed four years ago and we wanted to go out and win it. Everyone came out and knew what it would take and that's what we did. "There was no point going out thinking of revenge. We had to focus on our performance and that is what we did. "It is a bit of a consolation. We had set our sights on getting to the final and if we had played like we did against Jamaica we would have been very close to Australia, if not beaten them." Former St Peter's School girl Mentor, 21, currently studying at Bath University, will now have her sights set on further success at next year's World Championships. New Zealand disappointed a feverish home crowd by deposing Australia from their Commonwealth throne to claim gold. The current world champions edged a tense final 60-55 to end the Aussies' 12-year reign as Commonwealth queens.