Jaguars reclaim top spot after fourth victory

The Gauteng Jaguars returned to court on Monday and reclaimed their number one spot in Division A of the Telkom Netball League after a great comeback against the Free State Crinums winning the match 42-39.

Following a 20-all draw in the second quarter, both teams were forced to pull out all the stops in order to finish round one on a high.

The Crinums had the upper hand in the third quarter leading by two goals but the tables turned in the last four minutes when the Jaguars were leading 38-37.

Coaches asked for strategic stoppage time but Jaguars goal defense Akosua Mensah snatched a vital intercept in the last two minutes which gave the defending champions an advantage to seal the game.

Crinums coach Burta de Kock decried her team’s weakness: ‘’It’s something that has to change now, we can’t keep losing ball possession over and over again because of our decision making and we need the girls to know that the moment there is a turnover, it has to be successful’’.

The Limpopo Baobabs still need to dig deeper in terms of finding that first elusive win the Telkom Netball League.

The last match in round one went in favour of the Western Cape Tornados who beat the Baobabs 27-20.

Rookie errors and fatigue hindered the Limpopo side’s success, but neither team were doing well in the shooting circle with the Tornados on a 65-goal percentage and the Baobabs on 62 at the half-time break.

And lastly, the SPAR SA under-21 TNL team played their last exhibition match against the Southern Stings and won 36-35.

The SA side has taken full advantage of these games trying out different combinations and finding out their strengths and weaknesses as part of their preparations for next year’s Netball Youth Championships in Fiji.

There are a lot of positives that the youngsters can take from this experience even after winning three matches and losing three.

SA under-21 coach Dr Elsje Jordaan is satisfied with what the team was able to achieve: ‘’We won three out of six which is not too bad but still keeping in mind that the teams didn’t play their top line-ups. We very happy with some of the answers that we got and the combinations, so overall I think it was a massive success and it was great to have them here and being part of the tournament’’.

TUESDAY'S FIXTURES

9am - Western Cape Tornados v Eastern Cape Aloes
11am - Gauteng Jaguars vs Kingdom Stars
1pm- Limpopo Baobabs vs Mpumalanga Sunbirds
3pm - Free State Crinums vs Southern Stings