The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
HARARE CITY QUEENS’ storming start to the season probably needed the intervention of law enforcement agents to bring it into check.
The municipal side’s 10-game winning start to the Netball Super League season was ended by police outfit Mambas at Stodart Hall on Friday.
The top of the table clash ended in a 46-all stalemate but Mambas celebrated the draw like a hard fought victory.
“We have just made a huge statement with this draw, we have shown that we are no push overs,” said Mambas coach Talent Museka.
“Am happy with the team‘s performance against our biggest rival. We matched them pound for pound and could have won the match with a little bit more precision.
“Our first half was nearly faultless but somehow in the second half, especially the last quarter, the girls lost concentration and gave our opponents room to come back into the game.”
Mambas led 20-24 at half time but the Queens upped their game in the second stanza but their team manager Seyehlukile Sithole still felt her team could have done better.
“There are issues within the camp, the girls have not been paid for the past two weeks and this could have immensely contributed to the uninspiring performance. They were somehow demotivated today,” she said.
“But I must confess that this was a tough match, our toughest of the season, and it gave our coach a chance to identify the areas that need to be worked on.
“In the first half, we had a lot of unforced errors and that could have been a result of the players failing to hold their nerves in a high pressure match.
“Our defense was in an awkward position, the mid lost chances due to inaccurate passes but on the whole we are content that we got a draw and retained our top position on the log standings.”
