Malawi Netball team, the Queens have started their seventh World Cup campaign in emphatic fashion after completing a daunting comeback against the 10th ranked Thistles of Scotland winning 55-49 at the Cape Town Convention Centre, in South Africa.
The match, monitored through, the live direct sports channel on YouTube, Scotland skimmed through the Queens to establish total command of the first quarter which ended 17-9.
The Queens did about everything to remain in the game and sure enough, began to play like themselves as the game proceeded which resulted in them outscoring the Thistles 13-12 to conclude the second quarter while trailing 29-22.
Takondwa Lwazi thrived in her role, distributing the ball to watch the delightful connection between Mwai Kumwenda and Joyce Mvula, as both eventually finished the game with 100 percent shooting with 15/15 and 38/38 scoring respectively.
Responding to how they hoped to swing back during a halftime interview, Jane Dambo said the team would continue working hard because of its self-belief.
The fourth quarter started with Scotland narrowly leading 41-35 but Malawi tied the game with 10 minutes left making it 42-42.
The Queens would eventually grab their first lead, then pushed it to 45-43 and never took their foot off the pedal.
Malawi suffered a scare with seven minutes to play when wing defender, Grace Mwafulirwa was suspended for two minutes after committing an intentional foul as scores stood on 47-44 before ably outscoring Scotland 20-8 in the fourth quarter for the victory.
In a post-match interview, player of the match, Mvula said tactical changes enabled them to get back in the game and is hopeful they will remain consistent during the rest of the games.
“We told each other to mark man on, which forced them wide and made it easier for us to get the ball and in attack, we played short and went for goal,” she said.
In an interview at the beginning of the third quarter, Kanyenda acknowledged that his team had given away a lot of balls while noting tactical changes made.
“I introduced Mvula because she is agile with her colleagues and our initial goal attacker was shorter compared to their goal defender,” he added.
During halftime, Head Coach for Scotland Tamsin Greenway relished challenging Malawi tactically but anticipated that the Queens would get back into the game.
In another Pool B match played on Friday, England defeated Barbados 90-29.
The Queens will be back in action on Saturday as they take on England.
