Claudia van der Berg of Mangaung and Lehlohonolo Mashilwane of Ekurhuleni in action during day 2 of the SPAR National Netball Championships at the University of Johannesburg on August 06, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Reg Caldecott/Gallo Images)
Mangaung took charge on Tuesday, handing defending champions Tshwane their first defeat of the tournament, as the Free State team remained unbeaten after two days of competition at the Spar National Netball Championships.
In what was perhaps the most anticipated clash of the round robin stage, Mangaung secured a 50-44 victory over Tshwane.
While they were outplayed in a hard-fought match, stand-in Tshwane coach Sone Mokken recalled last year’s result when Mangaung had beaten Tshwane in the opening round but the Gauteng side had gone on to win the final.
“Last year we won the match that counted,” said Mokken, who was filling in for regular Tshwane coach Jenny van Dyk, sidelined while undergoing surgery.
Mokken remained confident they could bounce back to retain their A-section title.
“It’s a good wake-up call for the players,” she said.
“We made too many mistakes and we will go back and work at improving in the areas where we failed, but I know we can beat this team.”
Earlier in the day, Mangaung had romped to a commanding 64-28 victory over Ekurhuleni, staying unbeaten after four round robin matches, while Tshwane beat Nelson Mandela Bay 56-31.
The Dr Kenneth Kaunda team also remained unbeaten after handing Cape Town a crushing 65-22 defeat, though the North West South district side trailed log leaders Mangaung as they had played only three matches.
Despite the loss, Cape Town coach Sue Schooling said her side hoped to learn a great deal by contesting the top-flight division.
“Very few of our players have been exposed to the Brutal Fruit or Telkom Netball Leagues and they aren’t used to the speed and the physicality of play,” Schooling said.
“But they learn all the time, which is why we come to a tournament like this.
“Every time we suffer a hiding like this, we just have to go back to the drawing board and work harder.”
In other matches on day two, Johannesburg beat Ethekwini 54-47, and Ethekwini recovered to sweep aside Buffalo City with a 55-38 win.
The annual tournament was expected to gain further momentum on Wednesday, with Tshwane facing Dr Kenneth Kaunda in what was expected to be the match of the day.
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