Unbeaten Fireballs scorch Stings to book titanic TNL final against the Crinums
Netball
Fireballs goalkeeper Cornelia Mupenda (second right) moves in quickly to snuff out the danger posed by Stings goal shooter Sian Moore in their TNL clash at the Durban ICC. The Fireballs beat the Stings 60-47 on Saturday to book their place in Sunday's final.
Image: Netball South Africa
The Golden Fireballs booked their place in the Telkom Netball League final at the Durban ICC with a dominant 60-47 win over the Western Cape Southern Stings on Friday afternoon.
The only unbeaten team in the competition will face defending champions the Free State Crinums in a blockbuster final on Sunday afternoon.
The Crinums edged the Gauteng Jaguars 57-52 in another thrilling, tight clash between last year’s finalists. The Crinums led 30-24 at half-time but held on for the win in a tense final few minutes.
The Stings ensured that the Fireballs did not have things all their own way in the first quarter of their semi-final. Goal shooters Tinita van Dyk of the fireballs and Sian Moore of the Stings traded early blows.
Early push
Stings centre Amber Coraizin was key in holding down the midcourt as they started at a great attacking tempo, with zippy entry passes.
It didn’t take long for Fireballs’ star goal attack Owethu “Sammy” Ngubane to ignite her team’s offence and defence. A supershot from the Proteas star and another from Van Dyk ensured they went into the break 17-11 up.
The duo were clinical in the shooting circle throughout the match, and Alexandra Meimaris was having a field day with her feeds into the circle.
Star Jaguars wing attack Katlego Maseko (with ball in hand) was in fine form for her team but could not prevent a narrow loss against the Crinums in their hard-fought TNL semi-final on Friday night.
Image: Netball South Africa
The Stings started to feel the pressure from the suffocating Fireballs defence with goalkeeper Cornelia Mupenda’s influence growing as the match wore on.
Wing defence Tarle Mathe was equally impressive in a defensive effort that relied on teamwork and a tireless work ethic, even when the match seemed well won.
The difference between the two teams was also the Fireball’s ability to capitalise on their turnover balls and circle entries. They were just more clinical than their rivals.
The Stings fought hard to stay in the game, at 33-29 down at half-time. But the lead had blown out to 48-34 by the end of the third quarter as the Fireballs were relentless at both ends of the court.
The finishing touch
The crowd roared with delight when Nonsikelelo Mazibuko sank a long-range shot to put the seal on a commanding performance from the Gauteng team that seemed to have plenty support form the raucous crowd.
“We did really well. We wanted to fight for this and we’re finally there. We’re finally at the finish line. I think we fought for each other and we deserve this,” Ngubane said in her post-match interview.
“This means a lot for me, my netball journey and pushing through everything,” she said of her Player of the Match accolade, while struggling to hold back the tears.
For her coach, Dr Elsje Jordaan, the celebration was also tinged with relief after two near misses at the same stage in the past two seasons.
Third time lucky
“Third time lucky for us,” the elated coach said afterwards. “Previous two years we were top of the log and then we slipped, so happy for today.”
Stings coach Dr Freda Kemp congratulated their rivals on a good performance, stressing the need to get their centre passes right in their play-off for the bronze medal on Saturday.
The Durban crowd seemed to have energised home team the Kingdom Stars, as their drive to return to Division 1 gained momentum with a 53-45 win over North West Tshukudu in the semi-final. They will face the Tornadoes in Saturday’s Division 2 final. The Tornadoes beat the Sunbirds 50-44 to book their spot in the final.