Malawi Under-21 National Netball Team yesterday lost 67-34 to highflying New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar.
The heavy defeat means Malawi has slipped to fifth/eighth placement, where they will clash against Scotland this afternoon from 1pm Malawi time.
After registering a resounding 70-23 victory over Barbados in their last Pool D fixture on Wednesday evening, Malawi went into yesterday’s last-eight match with hopes of making the semi-final grade for the first time, but it was not to be as they trailed in all quarters.
They lagged behind 8-17 in the first quarter before the gap widened to 20 31 and 28-48 at half-time and the end of the third stanza, respectively.
With the yawning goal-difference going into the last quarter, it was predictable Malawi could hardly make the semi-final grade and what remained was to see if they could go down with a narrow margin.
Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) posted on its Facebook page that the Malawi team fought hard, but were no match to their taller opponents, who won the global showpiece’s last two editions.
“The third quarter proved tough. New Zealand’s speed and shooting accuracy stretched the gap further.
“Malawi worked hard through centre court but struggled to convert chances under pressure,” the association’s statement reads in part.
Yesterday, Malawi coach Noel Mussa hardly changed the line-up that started when they thumped Barbados the previous day, but still could not get what they wanted.
Shooter Stella Matelezi maintained her position under the loop alongside goal-attacker Florence Jeke while Alinafe Chaima operated from the wings.
Melia Soko was trusted with the ball distributing role at the centre whereas Esther Phiri, Aisha Gama and Chimwemwe Dzanja were wing defender, goal defender and goalkeeper, respectively.
In a post-match interview, Mussa conceded defeat.
“We tried our best, but it was really difficult to penetrate our opponents,” he said.
Malawi is competing at the Netball World Youth Cup for the first time in 16 years after doing it in 2009 in Cook Islands, where Malawi Queens star shooter Mwawi Kumwenda-Mbwana emerged as the top scorer.
She eventually spotted by Australian club Peninsula Waves to become Malawi’s first netball export.
