The SPAR national netball championships at Young Park continued to throw out interesting results on Thursday, with tournament favourites Tshwane beating log leaders Dr Kenneth Kaunda (Potchefstroom) and Cape Winelands losing two matches in a row.
Their first loss was to Dr Kenneth Kaunda and later in the day they went down to Mangaung Metro in a low-scoring match on a windswept court.
Cape Winelands appeared to be in control at the start of their match against Dr Kenneth Kaunda, leading 18-12 after the first quarter and 29-22 at halftime. The North West team came back strongly in the third quarter, drawing level and then passing the Cape team to lead 35-32 after the third quarter. The final score was 45-40.
Dr Kenneth Kaunda coach Elsje Jordaan was delighted by the way her team had fought back.
“They stuck to the basics and to the game plan and it worked,” she said.
Cape Winelands’ 18-21 loss to Mangaung Metro was more surprising, although the Free State team proved on Wednesday that they were not to be under-estimated when they beat Tshwane 46-35.
It was a tough match, with the wind making it difficult for the goalshooters to get the ball in the net. Cape Winelands led 12-7 at halftime and the teams were level on 16-all after the third quarter. Mangaung dug deep in the final quarter and won the match by 21 goals to 18.
“I am really proud of my young players, who showed a lot of guts and character in very difficult conditions,” said Mangaung coach Burta de Kock.
“They knew the most important thing was to keep possession of the ball and to stick to the game plan.
“I think it is very good for South African netball that there is such a tight battle to get into the top two. Anything can happen now.”
Winelands coach Annelie Lucas was visibly disappointed at the two losses.
“We came here to win and I think it would be very difficult now to get into the top two. We will probably have to play for third place, which is not where we wanted to be,” said Lucas.
“The conditions in the second match were difficult, but they were the same for both teams, and Mangaung handled the situation better. My players got frustrated and made mistakes, while Mangaung stayed calm.”
Dr Kenneth Kaunda appeared to be suffering the after-effects of their tough battle against the Winelands when they came up against Tshwane. Goalshooter Sigi Burger, who played very well against Winelands, was off her game and the North West team struggled to get possession.
“It was great the way the girls bounced back today after yesterday’s disappointment. I am very proud of them,” said Tshwane coach Jenny van Dyk.
“We went back yesterday and had some hard talking and we realised that we can’t take anything for granted.”
Tshwane looked determined to get back to their winning ways after their loss to Mangaung and made a good job of getting the ball into their circle. They were 23-15 ahead at halftime and won the match 46-29, having kept Dr Kenneth Kaunda to less than 10 goals in each quarter.
Earlier, Tshwane made light work of beating Cape Town 60-37. Nelson Mandela Bay recorded their fourth win, beating Gert Sibande (Ermelo) 50-45. Gert Sibande beat Ehlanzeni 47-20.
DAY 4 RESULTS
ROUND 1
Section Senior A
Tshwane 60 vs Cape town 37, NM Bay 50 vs Gert Sibande 45, Cape Winelands 40 vs DR KK 45
Section Senior B1
Amathole 18 vs Lejweleputswa 56
Section Senior B2
Harry Gwala 25 vs Capricorn 38
Section Senior B3
Amajuba 31 vs Zululand 53
Section Senior B4
Ethekwini 53 vs Royal Bafokeng 30, Joe Gqabi 24 vs Vhembe 44
ROUND 2
Section U21 B2
Tshwane 72 vs Capricorn 11, Zululand 53 vs Ethekwini 44, Joe Gqabi 6 vs Johannesburg 93
Section U21 B1
Lejweleputswa 59 vs Waterberg 16
Section Senior B1
Sekhukhune 34 vs ZF Mgcawu 53
Section Senior B3
Central Karoo 26 vs Waterberg 84
Section Senior B4
Ethekwini 48 vs West Coast 42
Section U21 A1
Sarah Baartman 15 vs Tshwane 67
ROUND 3
Section Senior B1
Cape Winelands 34 vs NM Bay 52, Eden 29 vs Buffalo City 79
Section Senior B3
NM Bay 46 vs Overberg 35
Section U21 B1
Amajuba 50 vs Chris Hani 26, Buffalo City 29 vs DR KK 41, Alfred Nzo 47 vs ZF Mgcawu 28
Section U21 B2
Amathole 38 vs Dr Ruth Mompati 14
ROUND 4
Section U21 A1
Mangaung Metro 59 vs Nkangala 6
Section U21 A2
Ekurhuleni 38 vs DR kk 53, NM Bay 63 vs Harry Gwala 17
Section Senior B2
Chris Hani 38 vs Nm Molema 40, Mopani 35 vs SANDF 32
Section Senior B4
Joe Gqabi 24 vs Ethekwini 61, Alfred Nzo 54 vs 19, Vhembe 22 vs Royal Bafokeng 49
ROUND 5
Section Senior A
Tshwane 46 vs Dr KK 29, Mangaung Metro 21 vs Cape Winelands 18, Ehlanzeni vs Sarah Baartman, Nkangala 30 vs Gert Sibande 47
Section U21 B2
Zululand 37 vs Tshwane 34, Ethekwini 48 vs Capricorn 13
Section Senior B1
Amathole 29 vs Sekhukhune 32
Section Senior B3
Amajuba 18 vs France Baard 40
