The Eastern Cape Aloes and the Western Cape Tornados locked horns in the opening match of day 3 in the Telkom Netball League. Both sides were head-to-head in the first three scintillating quarters refusing to back down but it was the Aloes who finally broke away and won the game 42-36. Aloes Goal Keeper- Bongise Wete and Goal Defence- Noluthando Maliehe discomposed the Tornados shooting combination of Anne Diedericks and Melanie Von Gunten in the final quarter, forcing them to create those errors and give away the ball. Sameshia Esau’s team are yet to taste defeat in the competition so far and will be up against the Limpopo Baobabs in the final game later this afternoon.
This was the Tornados first defeat after three matches and coach Danlee Matthews conceded that her players lacked tactic: ‘’We were a bit inconsistent at the end and I think the girls were intimidated by the physicality. There were some newbies on court today, they haven’t had the opportunity to play but it was a bomb shock for some of them. When you play at this level you need to adapt quicker’’.
Meanwhile, the Crinums’ shooting partnership between Claudia van der Berg and Xandri Fourie earned the Free State side a 54-39 win against the Flames. Claudia boasted a 100% shooting average at half time and walked away with the player of the match accolade. ‘‘It’s one of the most important things for a coach if shooters can step up. It’s all about the ball going in the ring and we are very blessed to have five brilliant shooters in the team’’, Crinums coach- Burta de Kock added after the game.
In game three, the Mpumalanga Sunbirds finally found that elusive win in a hard-fought battle against the Eastern Cape Comets after beating them 42-37. This was the Comets first defeat in the competition having won their opening game against the Kingdom Queens yesterday. Sunbirds coach- Thembisile Ngwenya was delighted because her players listened to her instructions: ‘’I am relieved and happy at the same time because the players stuck to the game plan. We actually made a bet that we going to make less errors and more turnovers going into this game’’.
Still to come on SuperSport Variety 4 (DStv Channel 209):
Jaguars vs Fireballs at 14:00
Stars vs Stings at 16:00
Aloes vs Baobabs at 18:00
