SPAR KZN Schoolgirl’s Fast 5s Netball Challenge
Durban North College: Saturday 13 August
Durban Girls’ College claim the inaugural Durban North Regional title in the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5s Netball Challenge that took place at Durban North College on Saturday 13 August.
In a fast-flowing game, College took on Danville Park Girls’ High School in the regional final. College opened their account with a well-crafted, goal from right under the hoop by XYZ, after a nifty pass by xyz. Danville responded on the other side with a calm shot being netted by XYZ. The game yo-yo’d for a patch as one team progressed by scoring, only for the opposition to level the scoreline shortly after.
Nearing the end of the first half, College pulled slightly away with two back-to-back goals, giving them an advantage of 6 goals to Danville’s 4 going into half time.
Danville were first to score in the second half, edging the score up to 6-5 in favour of College, but then College dominated the next ninety seconds of play and took their tally up to 8-5. Danville pushed hard, sending up short, sharp bursts of play into the College circle but were unable to reel in the 3 point deficit. College’s signature long passes were always a decisive response to Danville’s fast attacks, and again the score stepped up with both teams firing in a goal, and then another goal being recorded on the other side.
With time almost up, College took the game further away from Danville with the last passage of play seeing College basketing three more quick fire goals, taking the score to 14-8 at the full-time whistle.
In the semi-finals, Durban Girls’ College met host school, Durban North College and dominated the game with an 18-2 victory. Durban Girls’ College’s players towered over their opponents, not giving Durban North College a lot of space under the net. Danville took on Crawford La Lucia in their semi-final and in a very even matched game, took the win 10-8, with both teams only scoring three goals each in the second half.
Captain for Durban Girls’ College, Tanna de Freitas stated, “It was a great tournament with some amazing competition. I am very proud of everyone here today, especially my team.”
Durban Girls’ College were invited to play in the week leading up to the tournament as one of the confirmed local teams, sadly had to withdraw.
De Freitas continued, “We were a late entry for this tournament so winning today was a bit of a surprise but the whole experience was very enjoyable.”
Coach for Durban Girls’ College, Annie Nurcombe said, “The tournament was very professionally run. It was really refreshing to play a fast 5s tournament, we haven’t played for a long time and the competition was brilliant and the umpires were amazing and I thank you all for your contribution and this opportunity.”
Coach for Danville Park Girls’ High School, former Protea’s netball player, Precious Mthembu said, “I think the girls improved as the games went on. It was the first time for them playing fast 5s. Thank you to SPAR and the team that put this event together, it was an opportunity for the girls to play again as a team. This tournament was a good measure to see how Danville have been doing. We played College earlier in the season and the difference was huge, and now to get a 14-8 loss against them shows that our team has improved a lot. Some wonderful netball was played today by all the teams, especially after the long CoViD break. Well done to everyone here today.”
The next tournament takes place at Southcity Christian School on Saturday 20 August where teams will participate in the KZN South Coast Regional. All games will be live-streamed by SuperSport Schools on their mobile app or on their website.
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