Stars’ light bright after 19-14 win
YOUNG Fighters Netball Club have qualified for the quarter-finals of the second annual Polokwane Municipality Mayoral Football and Netball Cup and put themselves in a position to defend their title
YOUNG Fighters Netball Club might have qualified for the quarter-finals of the second annual Polokwane Municipality Mayoral Football and Netball Cup and put themselves in a position to defend their title, but their 14-19 defeat against Rising Stars at the Seshego Netball courts on Sunday showed cracks in the province’s netball powerhouse.
Fighters and Rising Stars will represent the Seshego-City cluster in the Polokwane Municipality Mayoral Football and Netball Cup, which will take place on November 8 in the city.
Having walloped Dynamic Netball Club 28-9 in the first match, Fighters were expected to cruise past youthful Rising Stars, but the defending champions seemed to have run out of steam and succumbed to a rare defeat.
Head coach of Young Fighters, Victor Seakamaela, vowed that the team would be at their peak when the tournament comes.
He admitted that the players committed a series of mistakes, which he said he would go to the drawing board and correct.
“We have built a new team from scratch. These ladies never played a friendly match before this qualification and that was a mistake on our part.
“There is no need for our supporters to panic as we will be at our best to win on the day of the finals,” Seakamela said.
Rising Stars, which shares a name with last year’s runners-up from Mankweng, has also vowed to cause a major upset and to rewrite netball history.
Coached by the legendary Cecilia Molokwane, Stars boasts players as young as 14 years old and their goal defence, Ramalau Letebele, who stood between Fighters and victory, will be the girl to look out for come tournament day.
On the football front, there were disappointments as favourites crashed out of the lucrative cup.
Crowd favourite Peace United went down to Gunners FC 3-2 after a penalty shoot-out following a 0-0 draw.
Royal FC from Hospital View booked their quarter-final place with ease after hammering Leopards Express 5-1.
This year’s tournament has increased incentives, with every club guaranteed a R1 000 participation fee compared to last year’s R800.
All clubs will receive a new playing kit and balls. The grand prize is still fixed at R50 000 for both football and netball.
