ZIMBABWE Netball coach Lloyd Makunde is tipping his charges to bounce back following a heavy defeat at the hands of South Africa in their opening match at the 2021 Africa Netball Championships in Windhoek, Namibia yesterday.
The gulf in quality was evident as the Gems crashed to a heavy 78-27 defeat against the Spar Proteas, who are ranked first in Africa.
Makunde, while accepting defeat felt they gave their opponents too much respect.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult game to play one of the best teams in the continent and the world. But we showed that we are a good team to play anyone in Africa especially in the first quarter of the game,” Makunde said.
“I think the only challenge we faced in today’s game is that we gave them (South Africa) too much respect and we created too many forced errors which I think we can rectify in our next match.
“South Africa was more physical than us, but I’m happy with the performance, and I hope we can improve in the next games.
Gems captain Felisitus Kwangwa is optimistic and believes the tournament will give them the much-needed experience in their team rebuilding exercise.
“We are happy to rub shoulders with the best players in the game and we believe we gave them a good run,” she said.
“We are staying positive and we are happy with the progress we are making in trying to bring in new players into the team.
“That’s why despite us trailing behind in the match today (yesterday) our coach made several substitutions and brought on new players to gain the much-needed experience and exposure.
“Our main goal is to have a good team that will compete at the next Netball World Cup to be held in 2023 in South Africa.”
by Cloud Fusire