The Golden Fireballs overcame their nemesis, the Jaguars, in the Gauteng derby with a five-goal victory on day one of the Telkom Netball League at the Ngoako Ramatlhodi Sports Complex in Limpopo on Thursday.
The much-anticipated repeat of the 2022 final was the last game of the day but the arena’s fervent atmosphere remained consistent. As expected, both sides relied on their strength to get them over the line but it ended up being a game of turnovers and conversions. In the end, the Fireballs’ attacking prowess proved to be lethal for the five-time champions who succumbed to a 40-45 defeat.
In the other division one match, Phumza Maweni produced a player-of-the-match performance that saw the Southern Stings beat the North West Flames 51-33. Maweni returned to the domestic league after representing Team Bath in the United Kingdom last year. Although it was an emphatic victory for the Stings, they will still look to rectify some mistakes going forward in order to surpass last season’s fourth-place finish. Meanwhile, Flames coach Elsunet du Plessis says all is not lost as this was the opening game.
‘’Overall, we had brilliant passages of play but we lacked consistency. We made silly mistakes when we were on attack and it’s just about containing the ball and finishing off strong in the shooting circle. I’m looking forward to this season; I am quite excited because I can see there is room for improvement and there are things that we really did well.
"Defensively, we pulled off a few brilliant intercepts and that’s something to be happy about’’.
The Eastern Cape Comets’ unrelenting spirit salvaged them a 32-all draw in the last minute against an experienced Mpumalanga Sunbirds side. The Sunbirds had the upper hand in the first 30 minutes, leading 18-14 at half-time. Comets coach Wendy Higson made two attacking changes in the third quarter, bringing in Chante Smith at Centre and Qamisa Jonas at Wing Attack. Having some fresh legs on court is exactly what the Comets needed to even things out ahead of the final 15 minutes.
A see-saw battle continued until the last three minutes, when the Sunbirds capaitalised on a turnover ball and their centre pass to take a two-goal lead. However, a missed opportunity under the post and a hard-earned gain by Comets Centre Zamokuhle Mpila levelled matters in the last 10 seconds of the game.