Mangaung beat the Dr Kenneth Kaunda team to secure third place.
There was just one goal in it at the end, but that’s all that was needed for Johannesburg to secure the Spar National Netball Championships trophy for a record fourth straight year after an exhilarating 52-51 victory over Cape Town in Boksburg on Saturday.
There was a massive sense of relief for coach – and former Proteas captain – Elsjé Jordaan after what had been a tough week, starting with a loss to the same Cape Town side in their opening match on Monday, followed by a draw with Mangaung the following day.
But her team pulled through in impressive fashion, holding their nerve in a nail-biting final quarter to clinch the win.
“I actually have no words, I’m so proud, the growth over the week is just amazing… there was so much pressure on us with all the JNA (Johannesburg Netball Association) teams performing so well, we couldn’t let them down,” said an emotional Jordaan afterwards.
Thrilled Johannesburg captain Tinita van Dyk was proud of how her team had improved throughout the week.
“Our tournament started really difficult. I think it was good that we struggled so much on the first day. That forced us to really go back to the drawing board and see what we had to improve on. I think it was good that we didn’t have it easy,” Van Dyk said.
Capitalising on errors
Cape Town and Proteas goal attack Nicholé Breedt was equally proud of her team, who remained unbeaten all week until the final.
“I actually said at the beginning of the tournament that the team that’s going to win at the end of the day is the team that’s going to make the least amount of mistakes. And unfortunately… we were the ones letting ourselves down. It was nothing else,” Breedt said.
“I think every small error we made, they really capitalised on, and I must give it to them. They worked really hard today from beginning to end. They came at us very strong and they ended strong.
“But I think we’ve grown a lot throughout the week, and I’m very proud of who we are, not only as players, but people as well, and what we’ve shown towards the end of the tournament.
“And I think we’ve got a lot of growing to do for tournaments to come, so I’m excited what we’re still going to bring. So hard luck for us today, but we’re not done.”
In the other senior playoff match of the day, Mangaung beat the Dr Kenneth Kaunda team 54-53 in another thriller to secure third place.
