dyton mupawaenda
Ellina Mhlanga in Sun City, South Africa
IT was a tough day for Zimbabwe’s Zambezi Eagles at the Telkom Netball League Power Week One yesterday as they lost 40-61 to Golden Fireballs at the Sun City Superbowl in the North West province.
It was their second defeat at the competition having lost their opening match on Saturday.
The Zambezi Eagles had a promising start in the first quarter with goal shooter Sharon Bwanali converting most of the shots in the early stages of the match.
But it turned out to be a tough game for the side with the Golden Fireballs turning the tables in their favour and were 15-10 up by the end of the opening quarter. The South African club took control in the second quarter, extending their lead to 32-15, while restricting the visitors to just five goals. Just like in their first game, the Zimbabwean side missed several scoring opportunities and struggled to hold on to the ball, and also lacked passing precision in some instances which was costly.
Nicole Muzanenamo briefly came in for goal attack Wadzanai Zimunya, who was partnering Bwanali on the attack, towards the end of the opening quarter.
Zimunya returned at the start of the second quarter but still found the going tough as they were restricted to just five goals in this quarter. By the end of the third quarter Fireballs were leading 49-23 and wrapped up the game in the final stanza to claim a 61-40 victory over the Zambezi Eagles.
Fireballs coach Elsje Jordaan said the presence of the Zimbabwe select side adds international flavour at the event with the likes of Bwanali and Muzanenamo having played at bigger stages.
“We are very happy to have them here and I hope that they also enjoy the experience here at the TNL.
“They bring international flavour to the competition. Some of these players have played international netball,” she said. “International netball is way more physical and these girls can stand their ground. I really think they bring a new style of play to the competition and our players need to learn how to adapt to that.
“So most definitely it’s great that I have been part of the competition.”
She felt they got a good challenge from the Zimbabwe select side.
“They gave us a really hard game.
“They played some proper netball and the first quarter I thought was very controlled and they brought their best game to us.
“And then in the second quarter we felt that we started to find our rhythm and also understanding our position because we have never played them.
“But it was a hard fought game right up to the end. I think sometimes the score line doesn’t represent what really happened out there on the court,” said Jordaan.
With the Zimbabwean select side seeking exposure and experience, the coaches made some adjustments and a few changes to the team giving the likes of Pamela Muchena and Zimunya a chance to have a feel of the competition yesterday.
Assistant coach Stembile Banda conceded they fell short on some aspects of the game. But said it’s a learning process.
“Today’s game was quite an intense one. It was a tough and tight game.
“Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. We lost today.
“In the second quarter, that’s when everything went way wide. We lost a lot of chances, scoring opportunities. We weren’t clinical, defence-wise, they lacked effective communication,” Banda said.
Teams
Nikki Mandeya, Upenyu Muyambo, Beaulah Daure, Lesibane Munjanji-Karaso, Anifa Luya, Wadzanai Monalisa Zimunya, Sharon Bwanali
Subs: Ruvimbo Pawandiwa, Perisinevi Tabviroona, Nicole Muzanenamo, Faith Mutero, Pamela Muchena
Golden Fireballs
Tale Mathe, Cornelia Mupenda, Owethu Ngubane, Ntobela Sanelisiwe, Jeante Strydom, Vanita Van Dyk, Anje Visser
Subs: Boitumelo Mahloko, Nonsikelelo Mazibuko, Alexandra Meimaris, Shani Mokken, Luanne Smith.
Online Reporter