PLYMOUTH Pilgrims boss Sue Gullick has apologised to city rivals Marjon for not helping their relegation battle.

Pilgrims, who are aiming for a runners-up spot in English netball's second tier, narrowly lost at Wiltshire outfit Raychem.

The 46-44 reverse would have also hurt Marjon Saints, who are trying to stave off relegation from Regional One.

Raychem were just within reach of Saints before Sunday's games, but have now opened a comfortable 13-point gap on the city team, who were beaten at home by third-bottom Team Bath A on Sunday.

Gullick had her own problems, with injury claiming key defenders Gemma Riley, Emily Hammick and Claire Grainger.

The Pilgrims coach, who was down on numbers anyway, recruited experienced shooter Michelle Dann during the week to bolster the squad.

Dann, formerly a Marjon player, made a huge difference when she was thrown into the action in the second half, helping to reduce a 10-goal deficit to just two.

The narrow defeat gave Pilgrims two losing bonus points and kept them in touch with the top two.

Gullick said: "We heard at first that Marjon had beaten Team Bath and I texted Karen (Dent, Marjon's head coach) to say how sorry we were we couldn't help them out.

"But then she told me that Marjon had in fact lost in any case.

"We're not giving up on second place, as the team which are now there, Hucclecote A, also lost.

"But although my first priority was chasing second place, we also wanted to help Marjon out if we could."

Gullick praised her team for their gritty recovery from being 10 points adrift.

She said: "Michelle (Dann) did really well when she came on and her presence made a difference.

"That's nothing against Robyn Edgecumbe, who she replaced.

"Robyn is a young promising player who was making her debut, but with the people we were missing, we needed more experience on the court."