Mangaung Metro show Tshwane who’s the boss
AFTER winning their first and second games of the Spar Women’s Netball National Championships, Tshwane were given a wake-up call on the third day when they lost 47-36 to Mangaung Metro. The weeklong tournament is at the Lotto Young Park Netball Courts in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“First you need to give credit where it’s due. Mangaung Metro came out all guns blazing today,” said Tshwane coach Jenny van Dyk. “They had a solid performance. That’s what went wrong for my team: Mangaung were very eager and ready and we were a little bit complacent.
“I felt that the first quarter went badly for us. As for the rest of the game, we stayed in it. But the damage was already done in the first quarter. I think to be fair towards the team, I don’t think I really thought through the starting line-up that I wanted against this specific team.
“I should’ve planned a little better for it,” said Van Dyk.
She said the loss was not because they had been playing against weaker teams, but emphasised they needed to bring their A-game irrespective of their opponents’ strength.
“We need to be able to play against any team under any circumstances. There will be a day when things don’t go your way. Obviously playing weaker teams you tend to get a few bad habits, but that will definitely not be an excuse today,” said Van Dyk.
“Our drive was not strong enough and we didn’t have that precision in our passing. We didn’t see it coming. But it’s important that the girls understand that’s how you get tested. The biggest thing now is ‘What do you do next?’ Do you fall down flat or do you rise?
“We need to get that right from now on. We are definitely still on track. I think there’s a lot that will happen in the top four in this competition,” said Van Dyk who also coaches Jaguars in the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League.
Tshwane won their first game of the day against Nkangala 91-16.
Mangaung Metro coach Burta de Kock was happy that her girls managed to fight until the game ended.
“I’m happy that the players could pitch up for 60 minutes. They followed the game plan and supported one another. We had experience on court. I’m really glad that we could pull this one through.
“It is our glorious moment. I’m happy for my girls because they picked themselves up after (Tuesday’s) defeat. Also, they were consistent,” said de Kock.
In other games, Nkangala fell victim to Dr KK as well, losing 86-14. Cape Town defeated Gert Sibande 73-38, Cape Winelands beat the struggling Bojanala 90-2 while Dr KK (in their second game of the day) beat Eastern Cape’s Sarah Baartman 109-7.
The competition ends on Saturday.