The star studded defending champions were the team of the day in the second day of the SPAR National Netball Championships at the Bellville Velodrome. Gauteng North beat Griqualand West by a whopping 34 goals, taking the match 61 – 27.
Not getting any official match time yesterday, as opponents Gauteng Central failed to arrive, Gauteng North was eager to get onto the court. Although without star players Amanda Mynhardt and Leigh-Ann Zackey, the Gauteng North team is still fielding a number of Protea players and this is visible in the match quality, and score.
Centre player Erin Burger who controlled the game and was well supported by her team-mates was very pleased with the result, commenting that “it was a good effort and a convincing win.”
With a healthy lead at half time (29-14), which increased steadily in the third quarter, Chrisna Bootha – SPAR Proteas player who has recently moved to this region from Dr Kenneth Kaunda, moved to goal attack, allowing Melissa Myburgh an opportunity in the goal-shooting position.
The different combinations worked well for Gauteng North who added 14 goals in the third and 18 in the fourth quarter.
The team’s strategy to give all the players a chance on court and introduce fresh legs as often as possible worked well for them and Burger said she was very happy with the result. “We wanted to give everyone a chance to play good netball, and it was a great start for us providing us with a good platform to build on.”
Bootha is excited about playing for a new region, “The energy is good and the intensity is great. It doesn’t feel like a new team though, since we’ve been playing together for so long!” It’s about playing the game we love and making each other look great, as you would in any team.”
Bootha’s former side Dr Kenneth Kaunda didn’t have as much of a successful match however, as a solid performance from Free State Motheo earned them their second victory on the trot when they beat them 48-27.
Although putting up a fight early in the first quarter, the Free Staters pulled away from their opponents and went into the first break with a 15-10 lead. The gap widened in the second quarter when Motheo were able to turn over the ball more frequently.
Both teams made errors and the shooting was less accurate but Motheo still managed to increase their lead to 25-13 at half-time.
Kaunda staged a mini fight-back in the third period but it was never enough as Motheo continued to mount pressure and force their opponents into losing possession.
There was no turning back as Motheo outscored the team from North-West South by 11 goals to six in last quarter. SPAR Protea Karla Mostert and captain and goalkeeper Adele Niemand were consistent in defence.
“We put in a solid performance and gave it our all again today,” said Niemand. “I am very impressed with our young players who are doing very, very well. It’s scary to come to a senior tournament and perform at this level but they need to get experience and they’re gelling really well with the older players.”
FS Motheo face Boland on Wednesday and will need to be at their best against the Cape side. “It’s like Boland’s home ground,” said Niemand, “so we will need to be strong, especially in the front, and improve on some of the mistakes we made today.”
In other matches played in the Women’s A section on Tuesday, Nelson Mandela Bay beat Western Province by a large margin of 63-37. Gauteng West had a tough day as they were first beaten by Boland 50-26 and then by Ekurhuleni 55-33.
Thursday sees Gauteng North up against Western Province, Ekhurleni v Kenneth Kaunda, FS Motheo v Boland Bizhub, and Griqualand West v Nelson Mandela Bay.
Day 2 Results at the 2011 SPAR National Netball Championships, at the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town, on Tuesday, 9 August 2011:
Women’s Section A:
NM Bay bt Western Province 63 / 37 Boland Bizhub bt Gauteng West 50 / 26 FS Motheo bt Kenneth Kaunda 48 / 27 Gauteng North bt Griqualand West 61 / 27
Women’s Section B:
Amathole bt Lejweleputswa 92 / 4 Vhembe bt Dr Ruth Mompati 69 / 10 NM bay bt Capricorn 46 / 24 SWD bt Royal Bafokeng 43 / 29 Umgungundlovu bt Gauteng North 61 / 29 Amathole bt Western Province 38 / 27 Boland Bizhub bt Vhembe 41 / 35
Women’s Section C:
Uthungulu bt Alfred Nzo 33 / 32 Nkangala walkover v Gauteng Central Gert Sibanda walkover v Mopani Ilembe bt Waterberg 53 / 27 Western Province bt Bonjanala 43 / 32 Ethekwini bt Amajuba 40 / 25 Cacadu bt Nkangala 42 / 39 Enhlanzeni bt Umkhanyakude 47 / 23 Griqualand West bt Fezile Dabi 49 / 38 OR Tambi bt Central Boland 42 / 32 Uthungulu bt Mopani 45 / 20 Sekhukhune bt Amathole 38 / 27 Gert Sibanda bt Cacadu 59 / 26 Ilembe bt NM Molema 72 / 17 Gauteng Central B bt Alfred Nzo 37 / 18
Day 1 Results at the 2011 SPAR National Netball Championships, at the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town, on Monday, 8 August 2011:
Women’s Section A:
Western Province bt Griqualand West 46 / 33 FS Motheo bt Gauteng West 63 / 20 Boland bt Kenneth Kaunda 43 / 31 Gauteng North walkover v Gauteng Central Nelson Mandela Bay walkover v Gauteng Central
Women’s Section B:
SWD walkover v Lejweleputswa WP bt Royal Bafokeng 59 / 20 Umgungundlovu bt Boland. Bizhub 49 / 31 Amathole bt Zululand 74 / 8 Gauteng North bt Dr Ruth Mompati 62 / 9 NM Bay walkover v Khembe Gauteng North bt Capricorn 32 / 30 Royal Bafokeng walkover v Lejweleputswa Umgungundlovu bt Dr Ruth Mompati 82 / 5 WP bt Zululand 63 / 14 Boland bt NM Bay 43 / 31
Women’s Section C:
Cacadu bt Uthungulu 52 / 50 Alfred Nzo walkover v Mopani Gert Sibanda bt Gauteng Central 48 / 18 West Coast bt Amajuba 59 / 13 Ilembe bt Griqualand West 56 / 27 Umkhanyakude bt OR Tambo 32 / 28 Umzinyathi walkover v KZN Ukhahlamba Bonjanala bt Central Boland 44 / 27 WP bt Enhlanzeni 48 / 27 Waterberg bt NM Molema 57 / 16 Ethekwini bt Sekhukhune 25/21 Nkangala bt Uthungulu 45 / 25 Cacadu bt Gauteng Central 43 / 39 Gert Sibanda bt Alfred Nzo 37 / 15 West Coast bt Umzinyathi 49 / 16 Bonjala bt Umkhanyakude 45 / 32
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