While Tshwane and Johannesburg cruised into the semi-finals, the fourth day of the Spar National Netball Championships at the North West University’s Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds in Potchefstroom on Thursday was all about the battle for the remaining two semi-final berths.
At the start of the day, three teams were in contention, but Nelson Mandela Bay’s (NMB) hopes were dashed when they went down to Dr Kenneth Kaunda. The host team beat the team from the Eastern Cape 43-31 to snatch one of the semi-final spots.
NMB coach Lana Krige said she was disappointed but also praised Dr Kenneth Kaunda.
“They were phenomenal. They had 17 turnovers against us in the second quarter and you can’t win when you give away possession like that,” said Krige.
“But we will go back home and work on what went wrong, and we will be better next year. You learn more from losing than you do from winning.”
Dr Kenneth Kaunda coach Elsunet du Plessis expressed her joy that her team was peaking at the right time. “It’s a very positive thing for us and we look forward to playing whoever we come up against in the semis tomorrow,” said Du Plessis.
Cape Winelands beat Mangaung 35-28, but that was not enough to see them through to the play-offs, while Mangaung clinched their berth when they beat Buffalo City 35-22.
Cape Winelands coach Nicolene Martin said it was disappointing not to reach the play-offs.
“We now start a new journey and we will learn from our loss. There are some very talented players in our team and we will grow from here on,” said Martin.
Mangaung coach Martha Mosoahle shared that it had been a day of mixed fortunes.
“The girls were very tired after the match against Nelson Mandela Bay yesterday [when they came from behind to win 30-27] and I had to give some of them a bit of a rest,” explained Mosoahle.
“I knew the second game, against Buffalo City, was very important. I am very happy to have reached the semi-finals, because it’s a new tournament from here on.”
She said she did not mind playing against unbeaten Tshwane. “We know how they play and we will be doing our homework tonight. I look forward to the challenge.”
Tshwane ended the round-robin phase with a clean sheet, beating NMB 36-24. “It’s been a very good week and I am looking forward to the semi-finals,” said Tshwane coach Jenny van Dyk.
“I am very pleased with the team. Six of them are playing in the senior A-division for the first time, and we only had about three training sessions ahead of the tournament. But they all know each other and we focused on building connections between the players.”
Johannesburg coach Elsje Jordaan shared that she had mixed feelings about beating Dr Kenneth Kaunda 33-27.
“We need to have a bit more intensity on court. It was very hot out there and our players have come from playing indoors to playing outside. But that applies to all the teams, so there’s no excuse,” said Jordaan.
“We know we have a target on our backs [because the Golden Fireballs won the Telkom Netball League] and it was all about surviving. We will focus on our semi-final tomorrow, and only after that will we think about the final.”
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