The Spar Proteas are in the driving seat of the Spar Challenge netball series after holding their nerve to win the opening Test match 52-48 against England at Ellis Park Arena on Thursday night.
Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time since 2024, there were a few nerves from the South Africans in the opening minutes. England capitalised to edge into a 3-7 lead.
However, once the Proteas settled into the game, they produced some beautifully slick passages of play and quickly made up the deficit, ending the first quarter with a four-goal lead.
The SA defence continued to make it difficult for the English. This as the home side maintained their four-goal cushion to the half-time break, which came with the score at 29-25.
Only two changes in third quarter
Head coach Jenny van Dyk made just two changes at the start of the third quarter. With star player Kamogelo Maseko coming on in place of Owethu Ngubane at goal attack. And Nicola Smith played in her 50th Test, replaced Juanita van Tonder as goalkeeper.
The combination took a while to settle. And a change on defence from England saw the momentum shifting. This allowed the visitors to close the gap and level matters at 31-31, eventually sneaking ahead.
Kyla Dames was brought on at wing attack, with captain Khanyisa Chawane moving to centre. Van Tonder returned to the goalkeeper position during the third period. And it ended with South Africa one goal down on 38-39.
The beginning of the fourth quarter brought more changes.h Tarle Mathe returned to centre and Ngubane back on goal attack.
A few lapses in concentration had the boisterous crowd slightly nervous that the home side was letting things slip. But once the home side regained their rhythm, they fought their way back in. They put their foot down to once again open the gap and won the match 52-48.
“We had great momentum in that first quarter. Second quarter, we stayed in it. And we knew after halftime that they were going to come out with a full counter-plan,” said a thrilled Van Dyk afterwards.
Like a game of chess
“We didn’t quite adapt to what they were giving us that well, and they came back into the game. It was a game of chess, making quite a lot of changes and making quite a lot of plans. But I think the players just stepped up and really showed that they wanted this win. And they battled it out all the way to the end, so that was fantastic.”
Meanwhile, in the curtain-raiser match earlier in the day at the Ellis Park Arena, the SA men’s netball side went down 36–69 to the visiting Australian invitational team.
The second Test between the Spar Proteas and England takes place on Saturday at 5pm. The third and final match is at 4pm on Sunday.
