By CHIMPREPORTS
• Wales 57 – 45 She Cranes
Uganda’s National Netball Team, She Cranes, lost to Wales 57-45 in the first of the three Netball Test Series at the House of Sports, Cardiff on Wednesday evening.
Despite She Cranes’ spirited start, it was the hosts, Wales, who had the last smile at the end of the first quarter, as the scoreboard read 14-12.
In an end-to-end affair in the second quarter, Wales capitalized on their aggresiveness to lead 27-22 going into halftime.
The Cranes suffered a huge blow, as star player missed due to club duties. And Mary Nuba was pocketed by Wales’ Ella Powell Davies, denying her magical shots in the circle.
She Cranes were restricted to only 11 goals in the third quarter (42-34) and despite Irene Eyaru replacing Nuba, the hosts held nerves to take bragging rights at fulltime.
After the contest, She Cranes coach Fred Mugerwa was left dissatisfied with the officiating, which he belives demoralized the girls on the court.
“There are some calls that I am not satisfied with and did not understand at all. That demoralised the girls more so when we were trying to catch up,” Mugerwa noted in the aftermath.
He added, “On different occasions the umpires blew the whistle, but later gave the ball to the person who tapped it out. Then other Fouls are being manufactured by the Umpires, which is disappointing.“
Generally, Mugerwa says the team played poorly and hopes for an improvement on a number of aspects ahead of their second meet.
“We are going to work on our mistakes, because there were a lot of problems behind. I also think we can shoot better, because, if we had scored our goals early enough, these people would not have had the chance to create the gap,” he stated.
The two sides will face off again on Friday and Saturday at the same venue prior to their participation in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup.
She Cranes’ Starting Seven
GK: Faridah Kadondi
GD: Christine Nakitto
WD: Florence Adunia
WA: Sarah Kakiyunga
C: Margret Baagala
GA: Irene Eyaru
GS: Mary Nuba Cholhok
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