Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Gems have reaffirmed their status as one of the fastest-improving netball teams in the world by clipping bronze by beating Northern Ireland 55-49 in the Celtic Cup at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday.
It was the first tournament Zimbabwe took part in, outside Africa, apart from the World Cup, having been part of the latter’s cast in Liverpool, England in 2019.
The keen Ropafadzo Mutsauki girls gave it their all in the four-team tournament and in the end, managed to finish third on a roster where they were the lowest ranked.
Wales won the tournament after beating Scotland in the final.
But they never cruised when playing the Gems in the round-robin after they were restricted to a 50-46 win by a Zimbabwe side inspired by the captain of the day Takadanaishe Assah Zimusi.
Having also lost to Scotland but getting over the Northern Ireland Warriors in the initial phase, Zimbabwe finished third and had to face off against the latter in the third-place play-off once again.
They were super-charged especially in the second half having trailed in the first two quarters.
Goalkeeper Elizabeth Mushore, who was deservedly named the player of the match, initiated some key moments thanks to her solid marking that handed Zimbabwe some decisive turn-overs.
Zimbabwe had two warm-up games against the Welsh Feathers in Cardiff last week and lost both.
Those two games plus the four in the Celtic Cup provided the Gems with the exposure they hardly have and Mutsauki is seeing everything with a positive eye.
“We are very happy after winning the match against Northern Ireland. It was a tough match compared to our first outing against them. The opponent was serious and they came out prepared but we were more than ready for them.
“I am very happy because we managed to win. It is something that motivates us a lot given where we want to go as a team,” said Mutsauki.
“These two wins will go a long way in terms of our ranking. We need to continue pushing to improve our rankings.
“We pray that we get more opportunities like this for us to continue growing as a netball nation.
“What is important is for us as a team to go out there and be able to learn one or two things.
“I think we got very good exposure and that is what we often crave and we are very thankful to the organisers of this event.
Mushore said the never-die-spirit of the girls dragged them over the line in the third-place match which they never controlled until the penultimate quarter.
“It seemed tough from the first quarter but fortunately we managed to contain them. It wasn’t easy. It was tough but we made sure we stayed in the match. We finished strong and managed to win.
“It was a good game and we had some really good experiences,” said Mushore.
The Gems now have to calibrate for an even more challenging test, this time a friendly match against England in Manchester tonight.
The Vitality Roses are ranked second in the world and won silver at the 2023 Netball World Cup in South Africa.
The Gems will be eager to give a huge fight in the battle.
They travelled to England yesterday ahead of the game and they will be expected to fly back home tomorrow.
leeroy mupariri
