BY MAGRETH RUZVIDZO The Gems yesterday suffered their second consecutive defeat at the on going netball World Cup qualifiers but even after the heavy 62-41 loss Malawi alarm, bells were not tolling for the Zimbabwe senior netball team who are one match away from qualifying for the global showcase.
After their defeat to Malawi, Zimbabwe date Zambia in a third and fourth place play-off in Pretoria where a win would clinch them the prized ticket to Cape Town finals.
South Africa and Malawi will play the final for this tournament but the former have since qualified by virtue of being the hosts while the latter have clinched the other ticket from this tournament by finishing in the top two.
Zimbabwe managed to proceed to the semifinals after defeating Tanzania, Namibia and Botswana and tagged along to the semis with the hosts who finished top of Pool A.
The Gems fielded a strong side for this semifinal although their eyes were on the Zambia match, but Malawi proved too good for them.
Malawi raced to a 14-8 first quarter lead and in the second, Zimbabwe introduced Ursula Ndlovu for Sharon Bwanali while Elizabeth Mushore substituted Tanaka Makusha on the defence side. However, Malawi continued to dominate heading for halftime with a 32-18 advantage.
Zimbabwe added just 10 goals in the third quarter compared to Malawi’s 12, who finished in style in the fourth.
Gems assistant coach Tatenda Shinya remained optimistic that they would still claim the final ticket to the World Cup.
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“We will redeem ourselves and qualify for the World Cup. We played a good team today. Malawi was too good for us and we couldn’t handle the pressure and I think we need to go back to the drawing board and reorganize for tomorrow’s (today) game,” said Shinya.
He also lamented the poor officiating, especially on the Gems defenders where goalkeeper Elizabeth Mushore at one point received a caution from the umpire for persistent contact.
“I think the umpires were overprotecting Joyce Mvula, she went out with too much murder today. She was the one who was causing the contacts but she still got the advantage from the umpires. So, in the future they need to also protect the defenders.”
“We are just going to play our game with the mind focusing on qualifying for the World Cup,” said Shinya.
- Follow Magreth on Twitter @MagrethRuzvidzo
