Kukoma Diamonds extended their winning streak in the FDH Premier Netball League after beating fellow established side Tigresses 61-49 in a Week Five, first round encounter at Blantyre Sports Arena on Sunday.
The victory was Kukoma Diamonds’ second win of the weekend after they defeated FLC Netball Team 57-25 on Saturday, strengthening their campaign as the first-round progresses.
Kukoma Diamonds Head Coach Noel Musa described the match against Tigresses as a good contest, between two experienced sides and said his team deserved the victory.
“It was a very good game considering that both teams are big teams. We deserved the win because of the way we played,” he said.
He said the team would continue training and motivating its players to maintain its performance and improve its position at the top of the league table.
“We will continue encouraging and training our players so that they can perform at their best and help us move further towards the top position,” he added.
Meanwhile, Tigresses coach, Peace Kalua, said she was encouraged by progress made by her players despite the defeat.
Kalua said the team’s performance had improved by about 40 percent, since the start of the league and was targeting further improvement in the remaining fixtures.
“I am inspired by the improvement we have made compared to our initial performance. We have improved by about 40 percent and we are striving to reach at least 60 percent in the coming games,” she said.
She, however, attributed the defeat partly to the team’s limited squad, saying the shortage of players and substitutes made it difficult to replace tired or injured players during matches.
“We do not have enough players and substitutes, so when a player gets tired or injured, it becomes difficult to make changes. This affects our performance,” she added.
Tigresses went into the Sunday’s match on the back of a 63-44 victory over Prison Queens on Saturday.
In other matches played at Blantyre Sports Arena on Sunday,Pacers defeated FLC Netball Team 42-40, while Prison Queens beat Giants NC 48-43.