Knockout punch eludes gritty SA
COACH: PROTEAS MUST LEARN TO FINISH OFF OPPONENTS
National netball team narrowly misses out on what would have been historic wins against Aussies and Kiwis.
The national netball team will need to find a way to handle pressure if they hope to turn narrow defeats into historic victories, coach Norma Plummer and captain Bongi Msomi admitted after another gutsy performance this week.
Despite putting up a fight once again, in search of their first win over New Zealand in nearly 23 years, the Proteas lost 51-46 to the Silver Ferns in their Quad Series match at Ellis Park on Thursday night. This followed their 54-50 defeat to world champions Australia in London last week, narrowly missing out on their first ever win over the Diamonds.
Plummer blamed poor decision making, with senior players succumbing to pressure in tense moments during the closing stages against the Kiwis.
Though she admitted her squad was less experienced, Plummer felt they required more patience in possession and needed to take better advantage of turnovers.
“This is the learning curve and that’s what I keep telling the players,” she said.
“You’ve got to have that X-factor, and the results are getting closer, but they’ve got to learn to finish off.”
Msomi agreed that they needed to maintain their composure in the closing stages of matches against higher-ranked opponents.
“I was quite impressed with the team’s performance but disappointed because I really thought we could take this game, which we felt against Australia as well,” the skipper said.
“There’s no excuse for players like [me] making silly decisions. We really need to sit down and think hard before we go into these matches. It is a learning process, and we can’t take that away, but there comes a time when you really have to finish off.”
The Proteas will target their second Quad Series win over England in their final match of the four-nation campaign in front of a sold-out Ellis Park crowd at 2.30pm tomorrow.