The University of Johannesburg netball team will gear up in their attempt to bounce back from a disappointing loss, as they take on defending champions NWU-Pukke on Sunday afternoon at the UJ Imbizo Hall.
The Auckland Park side kicked off their 2016 campaign with a slow start on Monday afternoon, losing 50-58 to the Madibaz netball team, and although earning a point for scoring 50 points secured a fifth-place position on the log, UJ will need to win their next fixture in order to break into the top four of the prestigious tournament.
UJ captain Deancke Rohde said her team has what it takes to get back up after Monday’s game and give it their all.
“Going through the game we just played, I think it’s crucial for us to go back to the drawing board and take the next game quarter to quarter. Our third quarter in the last game was our worst, but moving on we are concentrating solely on Sunday’s game.”
The leggy goal shooter said they are going out there to perfect their game-play and secure a win.
“It’s important for us to get a strong win on Monday, playing against somebody [VUT] that came from a loss, but at the same time, they also came from a loss and they also want it very badly. I think for the Sunday game [against Pukke], we just have to go out there and set our expectations for each game.”
Rohde said they only need to focus on themselves and keep their head in the game.
“I think we threw a lot of balls away on Monday’s game and if you play basics and you keep possession of your own centre-passes, there’s no way that you can lose or even draw. I think it’s very crucial for us just to stay in the game, remain focused and make the basic movements.”
UJ will face Pukke at the UJ Imbizo Hall on Sunday 11 September at 16h30.
They then face VUT on Monday 12 September at 19:00. The match will be live on SuperSport 10.
UJ team: Deancke Rohde, Kim-Roche Holmes, Ntombizodwa Yengwa, Nhlamulo Mhlari, Angelique Molefe, Jodie Brown, Christell Botha, Courtney Davis, Karabo Mokoena, Nompumelelo Mbonambi, Ntokozo Ramaremisa, Lebogang Malahlela
By Liziwe Mbha
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