Diamonds winless in Brutal weekend
AFTER six losses and a draw, the KwaZuluNatal Kingdom Stars finally earned some stars, winning their final two matches in the group stage of the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League (BFNPL).
The Stars beat the Northern Cape Diamonds by 67-30 on Saturday afternoon in the Mangaung Indoor Complex in Bloemfontein.
The ladies in pink were kept winless in all of their nine matches and never really threatened the Stars, but however did put on a much improved display from their performance on Friday.
The quarter scores were 21-5, 38-10 and 52-22.
With not much for either of the teams to play for, the match turned out to be a rather dull affair. Especially the Diamonds, who made themselves guilty of far too many unforced errors.
The goal difference could have been larger if it wasn’t for Eureka Mentoor, goalkeeper of the Diamonds, who continuously piled on the pressure from the back. She started the competition as a shooter, but has made a big difference on defence. Mentoor has been the Diamonds best player, but unfortunately for her she couldn’t really inspire her teammates.
The Diamonds shooters, who have been struggling throughout the whole competition, showed some improved form and only for the third time managed to reach 30 goals in a match. They lost the third quarter by only two goals.
Phindile Khumalo of the Stars, who played goal shooter for the final three quarters, earned the player of the match prize.
Both teams will now play out to determine the final positions from seventh to tenth next weekend in Bloemfontein.
Meanwhile on Friday evening the Free State Crinums booked their spot in the quarter-final stage of the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League (BFNPL) with a resounding 76-11 win over the Diamonds.
Playing in front of a packed pavilion it was important for the home team, winners of the first three editions of the BFNPL, to impress and to put the final building blocks in place before the knockout stage next weekend. That they certainly did and coach Burta de Kock would in particular be satisfied with the team’s defence, only allowing 11 goals threw the net – the second fewest in the competition’s history.
A stunned Diamonds team, who found out before the game that the Crinums have won the competition three times, seemed to have taken fright, as early in the game conceded an eighth consecutive loss, while only managing a single goal in the final quarter and conceding 24. Instead they should not have let that upset them, but could have put up a stronger display in preparation for the KZN match.