The fourth day of the SPAR National Netball Championships at the Ugu Sports Centre near Margate on Thursday was a tough one for Gauteng and Free State, who both had to play three matches, but both teams appear to be heading for the semifinals.
Their lunchtime encounter was the match of the day, with both teams trying to establish their authority ahead of the semifinal on Friday, where they are expected to play each other. Gauteng had the upper hand for most of the match, although Free State came back strongly in the third quarter, outscoring Gauteng by 12 goals to seven.
Gauteng turned on the power again in the final quarter, which they won by nine goals to six, to finish with a 37-29 victory.
Gauteng goalshooter Ine-Marie Venter was the stand-out player, shooting from any part of the circle with a calm confidence that belied her 20 years.
“We’re peaking at the right time, and they have improved with every game,” said coach Jenny van Dyk.
“We still have two matches to play, but we definitely plan to play in the semis,” she said.
“We have been able to use all 12 players in the squad, which means they have been able to keep up with a very strenuous programme.”
Free State coach Burta de Kock said she was very proud of her young team.
“They are gaining experience all the time and they are becoming more confident. They are stepping into the shoes of players like Adele Niemand, Karla Mostert and Maryka Holtzhausen. In the beginning, they thought they wouldn’t be able to do it, but now they believe they can,” she said.
“We lost a lot of balls against Gauteng, because of poor decision-making, but we can improve on that. We still have to qualify for the semifinals, but I believe they will do it.”
In their earlier matches, Gauteng beat KwaZulu-Natal A1 46-27, while Free State beat Mpumalanga 45-28, before squeaking home 32-30 against Western Cape A1.
Eastern Cape and Western Cape A1 drew 27-all. The all-conquering North West, who have won every match so far, beat Eastern Cape 46-27, and Limpopo 53-20. Northern Cape recorded their first victory, with a 30-29 win over KwaZulu-Natal A2, but Western Cape A2 beat them 37-26, and Gauteng beat them 49-16.
Western Cape A2 – who are hot on the heels of their A1 side – narrowly defeated Limpopo 35-33, while Eastern Cape ended the day with a victory, beating KwaZulu-Natal A1 37-29. Mpumalanga beat KwaZulu-Natal A2 by 31 goals to 29.
The battle for the fourth semifinal berth appears to be between the three Cape sides, with everything depending on the outcome of their matches on Friday morning, when Eastern Cape play Northern Cape, Western Cape 1 play KwaZulu-Natal 2 and Western Cape 2 play North West.
Leading Results from Day Four of the SPAR National Netball Championships played at the Ugu Sport Centre, Margate, on Thursday, 27 August, 2015:
A Section:
- Western Cape (A2) 35 Limpopo 33
- Free State 45 Mpumalanga 28
- Gauteng 46 KwaZulu-Natal (A1) 27
- Northern Cape 30 KwaZulu-Natal (A2) 29
- Gauteng 37 Free State 29
- Western Cape (A2) 37 Northern Cape 26
- Eastern Cape 27 Western Cape (A1) 27
- North West 53 Limpopo 20
- Free State 32 Western Cape (A1) 30
- Mpumalanga 31 KwaZulu-Natal (A2) 29
- Eastern Cape 37 KwaZulu-Natal (A1) 29
- Gauteng 49 Northern Cape 16
| Pos | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | TP | Log |
| 1 | North West | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 22 |
| 2 | Gauteng | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 20 |
| 3 | Freestate | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 18 |
| 4 | Western Cape A1 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| 5 | Eastern Cape | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| 6 | Western Cape A2 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 7 | Mpumalanga | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 8 | Limpopo | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 | KZN A1 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 10 | Northern Cape | 9 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 11 | KZN A2 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
B Section:
- Gauteng 35 Mpumalanga 29
- Northern Cape 25 Western Cape (B2) 24
- Royal Bafokeng 40 Western Cape (B1) 31
- Free State 25 Eastern Cape 12
- Limpopo 35 KwaZulu-Natal (B2) 16
- North West 45 KwaZulu-Natal (B1) 30
- North West 68 Gauteng 22
- Western Cape (B1) 29 Free State 33
- Royal Bafokeng 43 KwaZulu-Natal (B2) 15
- Mpumalanga 28 Northern Cape 21
- Eastern Cape 26 Limpopo 21
- KwaZulu-Natal (B1) 33 Western Cape (B2) 22
| Senior B1 | |||||||
| Pos | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | TP | Log |
| 1 | North West | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 2 | Gauteng | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | Mpumalanga | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | KZN B1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | Western Cape B2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | Northern Cape | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Senior B2 | |||||||
| Pos | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | TP | Log |
| 1 | Royal Bafokeng | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 2 | Freestate | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| 3 | Western Cape B1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| 4 | Eastern Cape | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | KZN B2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Limpop0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Photo 1 caption: Vuvu Nodludlume of Eastern Cape (L) and Jeante Strydom of North West compete for the ball during day 4 of the SPAR National Netball Championship at Ugu Sports Centre on August 27, 2015 in Margate, South Africa. Photo: Reg Caldecott
Photo 2 caption: Keneiloe Kgasi of Gauteng in action against Kwa-Zulu Natal A1, an encounter comfortably won 46-27 by the highveld side. Photo: Reg Caldecott
Photo 3 caption: Lungile Mthembu of Gauteng on the attack with Lauren-Lee Christians of Free State defending at the Ugu Sports Centre. Photo: Reg Caldecott
With editing by gsport
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