ZIMBABWE Gems brought their Africa Netball Championships campaign back on track with a hard-fought 50-49 win over Namibia in Windhoek this afternoon.
The 2021 Pent Series Bronze medalist played second fiddle to the host for a significant part of the match until the final quarter, when they seized control of the game, albeit in a narrow fashion.
Gems head coach Lloyd Makunde was vindicated for his decision to rest his star players against South Africa, reserving for Namibia.
However, his bag of tricks was not exhausted yet as he made substitutions that inspired the team to victory.
Towering goal shooter Lynette Tanhira who had a quiet match by her standards was replaced by Sharon Bwanali. At the same time, Progress Moyo took charge of the wing attack coming in for Paidamoyo Tinoza.
Back in defence, the watertight pair of captain Felisitus Kwangwa in goal defence and vice-captain Claris Kwaramba made numerous raids to thwart the nagging Namibian goal scorers.
Tafadzwa Matura had an afternoon to remember at goal attack as she was full of running, ensuring constant supply upfront.
However, Makunde said the players gave the hosts too much respect despite the lean one-goal victory.
“Today, we didn’t play well, we had to fight harder than we were supposed to, but I’m happy with the result I knew the players would deliver,” said Makunde.
“Even when we were trailing behind in the match, I was still confident that we could still win the game, and we did it, which was an important win.”
Gems inspirational skipper Kwangwa said, “We knew that we were good enough to win the game. It is a crucial win for us ahead of upcoming fixtures,” she said.
