Queens’ keep top 7 dream alive with victory over Tonga

Malawi Queens yesterday recovered from a slow start and survived a scare to beat higher-ranked Tonga 55-49 in a tightly-contested 2026 Commonwealth Games’ last Group A match in Glasgow, Scotland. The six-basket victory means the Malawi National Netball Team has kept alive their chance of finishing within the top seven brackets, a target Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) set for expatriate coach Debbie Fuller. The game was also important for the Queens in their campaign to improve their World Netball’s ninth-ranking as they were facing a team that is a step higher on rankings.

The result also means that Queens have won two of their five group matches and will this afternoon play in seventh-placement match against the hosts Scotland who lost to Uganda in a Group B fixture. “We are proud of the way we have played today. We knew we could go down to ninth-placement match if we lost and did our best to avoid a slip-up,” said Queens’ wing-attacker Takondwa Lwazi in a post-match interview monitored on SuperSport.

Yesterday, the Queens had a shaky start as they trailed 14-15 in the first quarter. However, with an upped attacking prowess that saw shooter Mwawi Kumwenda-M’bwana and goal-attacker Ethel Ng’ambi improving their shooting accuracy from 85 to 93 percent, the Queens turned the tables to lead 29- 26 by half-time break. They were further improved their performance in the third segment that ended 43-39.

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In the last quarter, Tonga came with all guns blazing to get back in the lead but the Queens’ strong resistance through the likes of wing defender Martha Dambo, goal defender Sophie Banda and goalkeeper Shabel Bengo proved too much. Fuller made one change to the side that lost to top-ranked Australia the previous day with centre Mphatso Banda replacing Melia Soko. Fuller, who has been with the Queens for five months, believes her charges are capable of winning this afternoon’s seventh-placement match. She, however, emphasised the need for a flawless performance.

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