Crinums content with points in TNL

Despite suffering a loss this weekend, Free State Crinums coach, Martha Mosoahle-Samm is happy with the efforts her players put in the matches.

The 2016 champions had a mixed bag of results in the Telkom Netball League, first taking a 47-44 victory over the Western Cape Southern Stings on Friday night then came close to taking a second one over the defending champions, Gauteng Golden Fireballs, but could not hold their nerve over to the finish line. They lost their second match of the weekend 45-44.

Mosoahle-Samm’s side led the match from the first quarter, utilising their defensive rebounds to force a two goal lead after the first 15 minutes and went into the break with a 14-12 score. The team continued the same intensity into the second quarter and saw the Bloemfontein side leading 27-23 at halftime. However the defending champions went up a gear in the last quarter after the changes made by the Fireballs which saw Tshina Mdau move from wing defence to wing attack, Boitumelo Mahloko took on the wing defence position while captain Bongiwe Msomi went to the centre position. The combination worked well for the Fireballs and saw them winning the match even after the Crinums still led after the third quarter 37-33.

The national Fast5 coach says she is content with her players’ performance in the second round of the competition.

“It was a good game, tightly contested. It was a low scoring game, you can tell it was a defensive game than anything. I am very proud of the performance, we knew it was going to be like this. We knew it was going to be tough, being up by three goals is nothing, one intercept, and the team is back in the game again. We knew that. We knew it was going to be tough, we just had to keep our heads high. We went into the leading position too quickly, I wish it was a little bit later because the opposing team keeps working towards something if you are up by three goals. But in general, I am happy, not happy with the loss but happy with the performance. We tried a couple of combinations and I am happy we know now where to work from here,” says Mosoahle-Samm.

The coach believes that last year’s bronze medallists are still on course of getting into the top four of the competition and possibly into the final.

“The tournament is still long, there is still the second leg to come. At the moment we are trying our combinations, resting some legs, and seeing what the girls can do under pressure. The A Division is never easy, every match is a struggle. Every match is tough but the girls expect this, they are used to this kind of competition. We are just taking it one game at a time and we know that it is closer to the semis, it’s closer to the top four and that is what we are here for. Nothing else, we have to lift the trophy at the end of the season but it starts now and building like we’re doing now. There’s definitely no doubts about it, we want to take gold,” she says.

Meanwhile, Rozanne Matthyse will be happier than the coaches in the TNL. The month long break seems to have worked well for her side. The Gauteng Jaguars redeemed themselves

and got back-to-back victories for the first time this season. The 2021 champions have now recorded three wins from five matches. They started the weekend with a 53-30 win over the Eastern Cape Aloes on Friday night and ended the weekend with a 53-40 victory over Stings. The five times champions

In Division Two of the league, the Western Cape Tornados continued their winning ways. They saw off newcomers Free State Sonoblomo 68-33 while making light work of the Northern Cape Diamonds 57-38. The Cape side maintains its top position on the Division Two table while the Limpopo Baobabs moved up to second position following their big wins over the Eastern Cape Comets and the sister team, Limpopo Lilies.

The Baobabs experience was glaring in the game with the Lilies, they had a significant lead from the first quarter even with captain Nthabiseng Mothosi having started on the bench. They were in complete control and ended the third quarter with a 27 goal lead with 53-26. The match ended with a 67-37 score line which handed goal attack Marichelle Visagie, her second player of the match this season.

The Sonoblomo made strides in the league after recording their first win of the season. They defeated fellow newcomers, Lilies 46-40 to earn their first two points on the table.