Dr Elsie praises Golden Fireballs defenders after perfect run continues in Telkom Netball League

Telkom Netball League Division 1 leaders the Golden Fireballs kept up their prefect start to the competition when Power Week 3 tipped off at the Durban ICC on Monday.

The Gauteng team coached by Dr Elsje Jordaan, assisted by Proteas legend Bongi Msomi, thumped the Eastern Cape Aloes 64-40.

The teams were neck and neck early in the first quarter as they traded goals with the score tied at 13-all.

But the Fireballs pulled away in the second quarter and led 28-22 at half-time.

Sharp shooter

Star goal shooter Owethu "Sammy" Ngubane was at the heart of all that was good about the Gauteng team's play, with a number of intercepts in midcourt disrupting the Aloes' play.

She was also clinical with her shooting in the goal circle with goal shooter Nomfundo Mngomezulu struggling to find her rhythm. She would later leave the court after picking up an injury.

It was no surprise that Ngubane was later named Player of the Match.

Seven unanswered points at the beginning of the third quarter by the Fireballs seemed to suck the life out of the visibly tiring Aloes. The match seemed over as a contest with a full quarter to go and the score 52-34.

The fireballs rang the changes in the final quarter as they cruised to the 64-40 win in their opening match of the third round.

"We're quite happy with the result. Our first pool game wasn't that great. I didn't think we were as clinical in attack as we should have been, and we should have made sure to convert more of our turnover ball," coach Jordaan told Independent Media after the match. "I thought there was really a great defensive effort by our defenders."

Job not done

Asked if she was especially pleased with Ngubane's performance, said: "We take a lot of pride in our defence and it's important that all seven players come out there and defend really hard, and she's been turning ball for us on defence.

"She's fantastic as a goal attack. At the moment, the volume that she shoots and the volume of work that she's doing are amazing and she shares the load with the goal shooters so well."

Despite carrying their earlier form in the opening two power weeks in Sun City into the third week in Durban, the coach admits there are things the Fireballs can do better as the final week unfolds. 

"We need to be way more clinical with ball in hand. We must make sure that we punish the opposition when they make mistakes and reward our defence for the hard work when they do create the turnovers. So for us the focus is on our attack. I thought we were really expensive today and our pass selection at times wasn't great. That is all stuff we will work on going into the next game."

The Fireballs' next match is against the Free State Flames on Wednesday.

Other results on the opening day included an important 54-29 Division 2 win for home team the Kingdom Stars over the Eastern Cape Comets.