It wasn't what fans at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre were expecting when two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist were a point behind Malawi heading into the final quarter. 

Malawi was in the match from the start but it was New Zealand who took an early lead in the first quarter but changes to the seven players who started the match, saw Malawi fight back and by the end of the second quarter had scored the same amount of goals as the Ferns.

From there it was Malawi's game to win and they did exactly that. 

It came as a shock to those following the game that New Zealand, who has dominated on the world stage of netball, had lost. 

Silver Ferns captain Katrina Grant put the teams overall loss down to defending and careless passing but Kiwi's watching the match unfold were not having it.

To be fair, the loss comes after two months of fans calling for the resignation of head coach Janine Southby after a string of disappointing results including a nine-point loss to England and 19-point loss to Australia in the Netball Quad Series held in January. 

Southby took over as coach from Wai Taumaunu in 2015 while Noeline Taurua, who boasted an impressive resume wasn't even shortlisted for the position.

While some fans have argued the Ferns lost on purpose so they could avoid Australia in the semi-final, it still begs the question of what has been happening in New Zealand netball over the past 12-months.    

Meanwhile, Malawi was revelling in the win with coach Whyte Mulilima saying everyone back home would be shocked with the result.

"We have beaten the untouchables," he said.

"Everybody will be shocked back home, they never expected us to win," Mulilima said.

New Zealand is back on the court tonight against Scotland while Malawi will face Scotland tomorrow.