Coach cautious despite victory

Malawi Queens coach Samuel Kanyenda says despite yesterday’s 62-48 victory over Fiji, Malawi put up a disjointed performance by their standards.

In a post-match interview at Cape Town International Convention Centre, the coach said the Queens did not play according to plan.

Said Kanyenda: “We needlessly gave away possession and allowed Fiji to play .

“My plan was that by third quarter, we would get it over and done with so that I could rest some players, but I couldn’t because it was close.”

The coach said his plan was to rest goal attacker Mwawi Kumwenda, shooter Joyce Mvula, centre Takondwa Lwazi and wing attacker Thandi Galeta.

“We have a very tough game against Australia tomorrow [today] and they needed some rest,” he said.

On today’s encounter, the coach said he expects his charges to give out something extra.

“Not an easy game, considering that they are the number one ranked team in the world, but we will come up with a good strategy for them.

“We have never beaten them before, but we are determined to break that record.”

The centre of focus in today’s match will be Australia-based Mwawi, who will be up against familiar opponents with whom she shares the stage in the Australia Netball League.

In interview, Mwawi said she hopes her knowledge about the Australians will help the Queens on how to approach the game.

“They play it long so as to get in the goal territory as quickly as they can. So, we need to find a way to diffuse them,” she said.

The gangly shooter was named Player of the Match after a five-star display against Fiji.

Fiji started at full throttle and led by four baskets at some point, but once the Queens shrugged off some early lethargy, they were in the fast lane and led 20-10.

At halftime, Malawi were 36-23 up.

They, however, lost some rhythm in the third quarter, especially after substituting Mwawi for captain Jane Chimaliro, who had a bad day in the office.

Chimaliro was substituted  three minutes later for Mwawi.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Chimaliro was again thrown in for Galeta, but it just wasn’t her day as she was substituted again moments later.

Towards the end, the captain was once again introduced for Lwazi.

Fiji coach Yvette McCausland-Durie said consistency was their biggest challenge. She said: “We also had problems in decision-making, especially in the final third.”