News / National
Zimbabwe's Gems thrash Northern Ireland
14 Jul 2019 at 22:43hrs | Views
It was yet another thrilling encounter at the Liverpool arena in Liverpool England, where Zimbabwe 's netball team the "Gems" locked horns with Northern Ireland's "Warriors" in their group A third and final game of the netball world cup preliminary round.
Despite being their first world cup, the Gems are continually proving that they are not there to just make up the numbers but to take the silverware back home.
It was really an enticing game as the Warriors and the Gems were trading blows throughout the match.
With seven minutes to play the Gems were down by two points 44 to 46 but they quickly recovered and ended up scooping the whole points after sealing the match 51 to 49.
Warriors' coach Dan Ryan was devasted by the result, "a gutting way to finish the game but in terms of the spectacle and quality of netball it was a great game to be a part of."
In tears, Zimbabwe's captain Perpetua Siachitema was very emotional afterwards, "we really wanted to win this so badly, thank you to our fans and sorry for almost giving them a heart attack."
Felisitus Kwangwa who was the player of the match concurred with Siachitema as she expressed her gratitude, "it was really tough for us they made it difficult we couldn't lose, we wanted to make our nation proud, we needed this so much it is living the dream, I really needed this moment and I am so happy about it."
Lloyd Makunde the Zimbabwean coach was full of praise for the Gems, "I can't express myself I am overwhelmed, it was built on team work and team work really prevailed today we are ready to take on anyone and we will get as far as we possibly can."
Zimbabwe's shots where at 96 percent scoring 51 of their 53 attempts while the Warriors' shooting was at 79 percent scoring 49.
The Gems managed to finish second in their group behind reigning world cup champions Australia the "Diamonds". The Gems are also through to the second preliminary round of the tournament.
Malawi's Queens, Uganda's She Cranes and South Africa's Proteas also booked themselves a trip to the second round of the world cup after impressive finishes in their respective groups meaning that all African countries are through to the next round.
Despite being their first world cup, the Gems are continually proving that they are not there to just make up the numbers but to take the silverware back home.
It was really an enticing game as the Warriors and the Gems were trading blows throughout the match.
With seven minutes to play the Gems were down by two points 44 to 46 but they quickly recovered and ended up scooping the whole points after sealing the match 51 to 49.
Warriors' coach Dan Ryan was devasted by the result, "a gutting way to finish the game but in terms of the spectacle and quality of netball it was a great game to be a part of."
Felisitus Kwangwa who was the player of the match concurred with Siachitema as she expressed her gratitude, "it was really tough for us they made it difficult we couldn't lose, we wanted to make our nation proud, we needed this so much it is living the dream, I really needed this moment and I am so happy about it."
Lloyd Makunde the Zimbabwean coach was full of praise for the Gems, "I can't express myself I am overwhelmed, it was built on team work and team work really prevailed today we are ready to take on anyone and we will get as far as we possibly can."
Zimbabwe's shots where at 96 percent scoring 51 of their 53 attempts while the Warriors' shooting was at 79 percent scoring 49.
The Gems managed to finish second in their group behind reigning world cup champions Australia the "Diamonds". The Gems are also through to the second preliminary round of the tournament.
Malawi's Queens, Uganda's She Cranes and South Africa's Proteas also booked themselves a trip to the second round of the world cup after impressive finishes in their respective groups meaning that all African countries are through to the next round.
Source - Daniel Itai
