Twins and wins on Morton’s mind
This game desperately close again but England win thrilling series
ENGLAND wrapped up a 2-0 series victory over the Proteas netball team in a three-match contest in Cape Town after a 59-53 win yesterday.
The tourists continued their dominance over the Proteas in 2019 to rub salt in the wounds from the Netball World Cup in Liverpool earlier this year.
The England Roses beat South Africa in the bronze medal match at the World Cup, relegating the Proteas to fourth place at the global showpiece.
The tourists drew first blood the day before yesterday when they claimed a 63-58 win after the sides were level on 51-all after regulation time. England won the overtime battle 6-5 and 6-2 to claim the victory.
The second match of the series was another nail-biter with only two points separating the sides going into the final quarter.
Proteas coach Dorette Badenhorst continued to test combinations as part of her prerogative to grow her pool of talent ahead of the 2023 World Cup in Cape Town.
Badenhorst bemoaned the number of turnovers her charges conceded, but she was happy with how they managed to keep England within target.
“We did well to come into the game. Every time we get close we lose concentration, and it is those one or two bad passes that cost us,” Badenhorst told Supersport.
“We couldn’t turn enough balls today, I think fatigue showed a bit, but we need to turn balls to win games.”
England were on the front foot from the start with a four-point lead after the first quarter of the encounter.
Nothing separated the two teams in the second quarter, the protagonists landing all of their shots at goal for the status quo to remain. The sides went into the half-time break with England leading 29-27.
They continued to exchange blows after the recess with the Roses keeping the Proteas at arm’s length.
South Africa drew level for the first time since the start of the encounter with 10 minutes left in the match.
But the Proteas conceded a turnover on the attack with England reclaiming the lead while landing a few body shots.
England stepped up a gear to take the game out of South Africa’s hands in the dying moments of the match for a six-point victory.
Badenhorst said South Africa were looking to bounce back in today’s last match of the series.
“It is important that these players start believing in themselves; we have new combinations and I think we can go in there to showcase our talent and play great netball,” Badenhorst said.
MICHAEL Morton has a bundle of expectations as Amazulu prepare to host Maritzburg United in this afternoon’s Kwazulu-natal derby at King Zwelithini Stadium.
The hard-working Usuthu midfielder is not only looking to help his team to collect as many points as possible before the Christmas break in order to climb the table, but – familywise – there’s also huge expectations.
“My wife, you see, is just counting the days and the hours before she gives birth to twins,” a happy Morton says with a chuckle.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this. Now it’s just a case of waiting on the doctor to give us the green light. It’s any day now.”
Usuthu are second from the bottom of the log but the expectant father is confident they will weather the storm. “We’ve faced a lot of adversity before. It’s something I’ve become accustomed to. But we always find our way out of trouble. We always find a way to bounce back. It’s unfortunate that we find ourselves in this space again but we can also escape again.”
Usuthu will have to find motivation to win games following back-toback defeats in their last two outings at the expense of Chippa United and Mamelodi Sundowns. So, maybe, Morton’s positivity and excitement about his family will rub off.
“What is important is three points now. Beating Maritzburg United can change everything. Three points can make us look at the log and think about the top eight. That’s the reality of the league it is very tight.
“Obviously, it is not great when you look at the log now. When you lose three games on the trot in South African football, you start worrying about a top eight finish. No one has really opened the gap besides Kaizer Chiefs. It is looking bad for us at the moment. But one or two good results can change everything,” he insisted.
Maritzburg are high on confidence even though they got a rude awakening by losing to Supersport United on Wednesday at Harry Gwala Stadium. Prior to this the Team of Choice had been on a good run of eight games without a loss in all competitions.
Morton is fully aware of the danger Eric Tinkler’s men pose: “They are a good team, playing good football. They’ve had a good run in the Telkom Knockout. It is going to be very tough. It is never easy to go into Umlazi.”
The industrious Morton, incidentally, has already started to prepare for life after football.
“I did do a Bcom at Unisa, along with personal training and nutrition. I’m not studying at the moment but I like to read a lot. There’s a lot of dead time when you are a footballer. You only train two to three hours a day. There’s a lot of time to kill and I prefer to do that productively.”
Kick-off in this KZN derby is 3pm.