UJ have taken heart from their fighting performance against pace-setters NWU-Pukke on Monday and are determined to keep building.
The Johannesburg outfit may be out of the running for a semifinal spot, but they pushed the unbeaten log-leaders all the way in Potchefstroom, eventually going down 60-55 to secure two bonus points.
The team approached the Pukke game as they did all the others, with the same game plan which included trying to minimise the amount of mistakes.
“Our overall goal was to retain our own C-passes and to take care of the ball when we had it in hand,” said Charlotte Schotz, UJ Netball Manager.
UJ went into the game focused on their own goals as they had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“We achieved our goals and lost a bit of concentration during their sizzle play which ultimately cost us the game,” she added.
The UJ team has put in great effort and will definitely build on this moving forward. The players showed some fantastic grit and because they retain most of their players for next year they will most certainly be a factor to be considered going forward in this competition.
All the UJ players have certainly gained enormous experience during this competition and all of them developed and improved significantly.
“I would have to say our first years really stepped up in this competition and showed that they can do it,” said Scholtz.
Some UJ players that have not played for the first team before, has adapted significantly and have grown with the team during the competition.
“I cannot select one player who developed the most, it has been a learning curve for all of us and I believe the leadership in the team contributed positively to the team spirit,” added the UJ coach.
UJ’s game plan is focussed on dominating ball possession and retaining their own C-passes. Scholtz also added that it is imperative that they stay focused and keep calm during the sizzle play as those are crucial strategic stages of the game, if the team can capitalise on them they can ensure a favourable result.
