The Golden Fireballs came from behind to beat the North West Flames 48-44 in a humdinger of a match in the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League at the Durban University of Technology on Friday night.
Neither side was able to dominate and the lead changed hands several times. The Fireballs won the the first quarter by two goals, and the Flames the second by two, to lead 23-21 at halftime. The Fireballs won the third and fourth, but the outcome of the match was still in doubt until the final whistle.
Because of the closeness of the match, neither coach was able to make two many changes and largely stuck to their starting line-ups. The outstanding player was the Flames’ goal attack, Renske Stoltz, who seemed to be able to score from any part of the circle.
“The whole game we struggled to close Renske down,” said Fireballs coach Elsje Jordaan. “She is really on song at the moment, and very nearly took the game away from us. Our main priority was trying to prevent the ball from getting into their circle, because she is so dangerous.
