Malawi U-19 reach AUSC Region 5 Netball final

Malawi Under-19 National Netball team put on a much-spirited performance as they came from behind in three quarters to beat Zimbabwe 51-43 in the last quarter and book their place in the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Netball final on Thursday in Namibia.

The team has been impressive in the tournament after beating Eswatini 73-21 in their opening match, before beating Zambia 48-46, and losing 48-29 to South Africa but managed to book a place in the semi-finals.

It was a tough start for the Junior Queens, who trailed 12-7 baskets in the first quarter but had to net 13 baskets to Zimbabwe’s 10 to trail 22-20 at half-time.

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It was so tight in the third quarter as Malawi still trailed 33-32, but that was after netting 12 baskets and letting in 11 baskets. In the last quarter, they bagged 19 baskets to 10 for Zimbabwe to claim a win.

The team’s head coach, Jane Chimaliro, was left happy and speechless after her team sealed that massive comeback victory.

“I’m so happy for these players because they have shown massive character. It was their first international tournament, but they have done more than what I expected. They were trailing in this game, but they managed to fight for a win because this is what we came here for,” said Chimaliro.

Soccer analyst in the country, Justin Mitambo, hailed the team, saying this is a good future for our senior team as the youngsters are now exposed to the international game.

“This will help a proper transitioning from the junior teams to the senior team, as we will be rest assured that replacements are readily available. Let’s keep this team so that we can have these players also shining in the near future.”

However, Malawi has a lot of work to do in order to win the trophy, as they will face South Africa in the finals of the tournament on Friday at Showgrounds starting from 16:00 hrs.