By SANDRA MWILA –
ZAMBIA was yesterday booted out of the on-going Sydney 2015 Netball World Cup after a 77-44 mauling to an impressive Wales in a Pool D preliminary round match played at the Allphones Arena in Australia.
The defeat was Zambia’s second successive one after losing to Uganda 74-38 in the opening match to miss out on qualifying to the next stage as they will now have to battle for the tournament finishing spots.
Zambia will today take on Fiji in a final group tie that will see the two strugglers vying for their first wins of the competition after both lost their two opening matches.
Coach Charles Zulu, who attributed the defeat to silly mistakes by his team, said he did not expect Zambia to loss after playing ‘so well’.
“I did not expect us to lose, we played much better today (Sunday) when compared to the game against Uganda. What cost us were the silly mistakes that we made,” said a dejected Zulu in an interview from Sydney.
On the netball court, an eighth ranked Wales entered the contest with 18th-ranked Zambian side as favourites and didn’t disappoint their loyal fans with a victory over the African nation.
Zambia’s adoption of the bounce pass was prolific, particularly in their shooting circle in trying to combat the height deficit to Wales, and while at times Zambia was able to match their opponents for pace, they failed to combat the average 15cm height difference.
According to the 2015nwc website, shooter Lucy Jere put up a strong performance for Zambia scoring the bulk of their goals.
The first quarter proved to be a tight contest with both teams suffering from errors trying to stamp their mark on the game.
The crowd was enamoured with the unique one-handed style of Zambian shooters Elizabeth Bwalya and Jere.
Welsh shooters Emma Thomas and Chelsea Lewis received solid delivery from centre Kyra Jones driving strongly onto the circle, helping her side to a 14-11 at quarter time.
Despite Zambia displaying some athletic passages of play, Wales was able to build on their lead, the score reading in their favour 37-22 at half time.
In trying to bridge the gap, Zambia also made changes bringing on Carol Moono at wing attack and Petronella Bwalya at wing defence.
Yvonne Kaholo was brought on after Agness Chingambo suffered an injury early in the quarter as Wales raced to a 57-34 lead.
Wales used their lead in the final term to give bench players Georgia Rowe and Sara Bell some court time in the shooting circle, while a beautiful intercept by one of the shortest players in the competition, Zambia’s Naomi Changwe got the crowd excited with Wales running away eventual winters 71-44.
Meanwhile, Zambia, making a second appearance, will be looking to level the teams’ World Cup record with Fiji claiming victory in their last encounter at the 1999 Netball World Cup in New Zealand, 68-39.
Turnovers proved to be costly for Zambia in their 27-goal loss to Wales last round and Jere will look to continue her form, recording the team’s highest shooting percentage (84 per cent) against Wales to contribute to her tournament 85 per cent shooting accuracy with a total of 84 goals from 98 attempts.
With a day’s rest, Fiji will come into this match fresh and eager to notch their first win. Ranked seventh on the International Netball Federation World Rankings, Fiji will be looking to rectify errors made against Uganda in their round two clash.