The South African women’s water polo team won both their games on Monday at the women’s international tournament being held at the Joan Harrison swimming pool in East London, and have now secured a place in the semifinals.
The team registered an adequate but frustrating 9-7 win over Australia in their first game of the day, but it was a 5-3 victory over Sweden in the evening that ensured a spot in the final four.
Coach Brad Rowe’s emphasis on attack was played out effectively and Sarah Harris and Tammy Heydenrych were rewarded with one and two goals respectively.
Captain Nicky Poulos from Gauteng was also impressive, leading by example as she kept the game together for the South Africans.
Swedish captain Maria Wallberg stood out as the visitors’ player of the match. Had she been offered more support by her teammates, the Swedes could well have turned the game around in their favour, but Wallberg was left on her own too often, said coach Jenny Morsten.
Having won all their games thus far, South Africa on Tuesday face their stiffest competition of the tournament when they take on Russia. The visitors have cemented their place as favourites, amassing a whopping 108 goals in four games and conceding only 10.
”Dominate and defeat” seems to be their strategy, and it’s working. The team thrashed SA B 28-1 and SA U20 29-0 on Monday.
The SA U20’s other game of the day was a nailbiter against Sweden, which they lost 6-8. They will be hoping for a win on Tuesday against SA B, a game which, judging from both teams’ results against the foreign teams, will be very closely contested.
In the men’s interprovincial competition , which is running alongside the women’s tournament, South Africa U20 continued their good form, beating a strong Western Province side 8-5. Central Gauteng, looking for a win after drawing 6-6 with SA U20 the previous day, played well enough to beat Kwazulu-Natal 8-6 in the last match of the day, setting them up admirably for their game on Tuesday against a thus far hapless EP/Border team. – Sapa