TSHWANE CONTINUE TO SHINE AT SPAR NATIONAL NETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Potchefstroom, North West, South Africa: Tshwane continued their winning ways on the second day of the SPAR National Netball Championships at the North West University, Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds in Potchefstroom on Tuesday.
They beat Johannesburg 34 -32 in their only match of the day.
The closest match of the day was between Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Mangaung. The host team led 17-16 at halftime, but Mangaung came back to win the match by 34 goals to 32. The lead changed hands several times during the match and the outcome was in doubt until the final whistle.
Mangaung coach Martha Mosoahle, who has taken over from longtime Mangaung and Free State coach Burta de Kock, was pleased with the team’s performance.
“We lost yesterday (to Johannesburg), so I was happy to get the win today. It was low-scoring but it was a very intense match,” said Mosoahle.
“I hope we can maintain some momentum after winning this match. I will be working on building their confidence as well as addressing some minor technical issues.”
Mosoahle said it was a very young team, because a number of the Free State Crinums had not been available for the tournament.
“They need to get used to winning and I hope to build on today’s victory in a tough game.”
Earlier, defending champions Cape Winelands had a decisive 41-28 win over Buffalo City, who are playing in the A-section for the first time.
“We lost both our matches yesterday (to Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay). The girls started very slowly and lost focus,” said coach Nicolene Martin.
“They started finding their feet today and showed a bit more energy. I am very happy with the way they played today and we hope to go from strength to strength,” said Martin.
Johannesburg bounced back from their morning loss to beat Nelson Mandela Bay 39-27, after leading 31-19 at halftime.
“It’s been a mixed day for us,” said Johannesburg coach Elsje Jordaan.
“But although we lost to Tshwane this morning, I liked what I saw. And you don’t win a tournament on the second day. We have time to get things right.
“We picked up a couple of injuries against Nelson Mandela Bay this afternoon, which is a bit of a problem because we only have ten players. There are some tired bodies, because we have played four matches in two days. But from tomorrow there is only one match a day so we have time to recover before the semifinals on Friday,” said Jordaan.
Nelson Mandela Bay coach Lana Krige said she had a shortage of shooters, having lost two to injury at USSA.
“But the shooters we have stepped it up today and are getting better every day. We are known for our defence, but I was pleased with our attack today.”
Tshwane are now the only unbeaten team.
DAY 2: Results
Senior A
Tshwane 34 – Johannesburg 32
Cape Winelands 41 – Buffalo City 28
Dr Kenneth Kaunda 32 – Mangaung 34
Johannesburg 39 – Nelson Mandela Bay 27
U21 A
Johannesburg 35 – Ekurhuleni 27
Dr Kenneth Kaunda 35 – Mangaung 23
Cape Town 19 – Tshwane 48
Selected matches will be broadcast on SuperSport OTT3/Channel 247 on the DSTV App (8-11 August 2022) and Variety 4/Channel 209 (12 August 2022). Finals LIVE on SuperSport Variety 3 Channel 208 (13 August 2022). Selected matches will be streaming on the SuperSport Schools App.
SPAR National Netball Championships Broadcast matches on Supersport OTT3 and Variety 3
10 August 2022:
08:15 – Buffalo City vs DR Kenneth Kaunda
09:35 – Mangaung vs Tshwane
10:50 – Johannesburg vs Cape Winelands
14:35 – Nelson Mandela vs Mangaung
