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Host district Dr KK take control at national netball champs
Defending champions Johannesburg were three points behind in the standings but they held a game in hand.
Sunel Smit in action for Dr Kenneth Kaunda at the national netball championships. Picture: Reg Caldecott/Gallo Images
While they took a three-point lead at the top of the log on Tuesday, Dr Kenneth Kaunda coach Elsunet du Plessis has warned her players they cannot drop their intensity in their remaining first-round matches at the Spar National Netball Championships in Rustenburg.
The host district won both their games on day two of the domestic showpiece, remaining unbeaten in the senior A-division.
They coasted to a 57-31 victory over Cape Town, and they went on to beat Mangaung 51-46.
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“I think it’s a good position to be at the top of the log, but that doesn’t give us a reason to take the foot off the pedal,” Du Plessis said.
Preparing for a crunch clash against defending champions Johannesburg on Wednesday, Du Plessis admitted there were some areas where they could improve as they targeted a place in the semifinals later in the week.
“We can still work on our ball placement and decision making of where the ball should go,” she said.
“We’re also still making silly mistakes, but that’s something you can work on in every game and something you can improve on.”
Other results
Earlier yesterday, Mangaung had let their lead slip as they settled for a draw in a thrilling clash against a fighting Johannesburg side.
Trailing by five goals with less than three minutes left, Johannesburg clawed their way back at the death, scoring two goals in the last 10 seconds as the match ended in a 49-49 draw.
This left Johannesburg in second position in the standings with five points (three points behind Dr Kenneth Kaunda) though they held a game in hand. Mangaung, who also had five points, settled in third place on goal difference.
In the last match of the day, former champions Tshwane and Cape Winelands played to a 59-59 draw.
Both teams had three log points, but Winelands were in fourth place, with Tshwane settling in fifth on goal difference, with two days of competition left in the round-robin stage of the tournament.
