By GARY LEMKE in Maseru
A dominant display on the court was reflected on the scoreboard as Team SA’s netballers swept aside Malawi 42-27 to secure their third straight victory at the Region 5 Youth Games in Maseru.
Malawi were expected to put up a stout effort against a powerful South African line-up, but had no answer to the physicality of the TeamSA squad who could rely on the presence of the 1.91m goalshooter Amber Marshall.
It was a bittersweet victory for the South Africans coming a day after the tragic news that three players and a team official had been killed in an accident on their way to the 2021 SPAR National Championships. A minute’s silence was staged at the Maseru Club before the two teams took to the court.
Once things got under way though the 18-year-old Marshall wreaked havoc amongst the opponent’s defenders. She totalled 39 points as Team SA outscored their opponents in all four quarters. They led 9-6 after the first quarter and were 13-7 up in the second when Malawi staged a mini fightback, getting to 13-12 down on the outdoor court at the Maseru Club.
However, from there the Team SA machine clicked into overdrive and pulled away. They led 20-13 after the second quarter, stretched that advantage to 32-18 after the third quarter and then could turn off the turbo in the final quarter.
Afterwards, coach Precious Mthembu said she was satisfied with the performance. “I’m happy with how the girls have been able to learn different tactics and skills in such a short time,” she said.
“As an ex Proteas player myself I knew what to expect from Malawi today because we have played against the Malawian coaches and we knew they’d teach them a similar style.
“Our girls played very well. They worked on the basics and stuff we taught them. It was a typical Malawi performance, because they were quite up and down and came hard at us in the second quarter, but our girls kept their composure and played the lines, and side to side to do what was needed.”
Marshall was understandably happy with her goal return. These Games’ are her first wearing national colours and she has been determined to make her first Team SA event a memorable one. “I’ve been playing since Grade 2, but I started out as a goalkeeper. I became a goal shooter at Afrikaans Hoer Meisieskool and haven’t looked back. The competition here is a lot more physical to that I’m used to, but I love it.
“There’s plenty for me to work on and develop. My shooting average here over the three games has been around 85, 86 percent and usually I’m around 90 percent. Still, I don’t think I’ve been doing too badly in terms of my performance!
That could be the understatement of these Games! Against Malawi she scored 39 goals out of the 42 that were scored by Team SA and she was also prolific in the opening two wins against Zambia (39-14) and Lesotho (57-22).
On Tuesday, Botswana loom as tough opponents, but Mthembu remains quietly confident. “They’ve got height in the circle, so we must be careful of that. But, in all honesty, we’re also probably one of the strongest teams here, so we’ll take it game by game and maintain the standard that Netball SA sets.”
Photo: Amber Marshall by Roger Sedres