Southern Stings win promotion
THE Southern Stings won promotion to the first division of the Brutal Fruit Netball Cup by thrashing the Eastern Aloes 52-40 in the promotion/relegation match at the Pretoria University Sports Centre yesterday.
The Stings, who were crowned Netball Shield champions on Saturday night, sailed through all their league matches and maintained throughout that they belonged in the first division, and their performance yesterday underlined that. They went into the lead from the start of the match, and maintained that lead throughout, except for a few minutes in the second half.
The Aloes fought back from a six-goal deficit after the first quarter to draw level on 22-all at half time, and they briefly took the lead eight minutes into the second half.
But the Western Cape side stepped up a gear and turned the screws on their Eastern Cape opponents. After the third quarter, the Stings were 35-31 ahead, and in the final quarter, the Aloes were all at sea.
The Stings defensive pair of Rochelle Lawson and Phumza Maweni were outstanding, and kept the Aloes shooters, Dumisani Chauke and Zandile Njeza, in check. The Aloes appeared to panic at times, with wild long passes that bounced out of court, ending up in the Stings' possession.
"I think we played well and we deserved to win," Stings coach Bennie Saayman said. "The difference between the two teams was that the Stings were more disciplined and played constructive netball, in defence and attack.
"We knew this would be a tough match, but the players believed in themselves and their ability to win. They have gone through the whole tournament without losing a match, and now they can prove themselves against the best teams in the country."
Aloes coach Maryka Allaway said she was naturally very disappointed, but she thought the Stings' victory was well-deserved.
"They're on the top of their game right now, and we were never in command of the match. We were always having to play catch-up, and ultimately we just couldn't do it. But we will come back strongly next year."
