African Nations Gain Strength With Singapore Upset

What a difference a day makes at the NTUC FairPrice Foundation Nations Cup 2010!

Scotland and Namibia opened proceedings on day two with the African nation producing a reinvigorated performance following yesterday’s defeat by Wales. The African side kept the pressure on the Scots for the whole match losing out 59-43.

The final score masks Namibia’s dramatically improved performance against the highest ranking team of the competition.

Commenting after the game, Scotland coach, Denise Holland admitted it was a tough match, she said: “We conceded 43 goals against us today so they were really strong in attack.”

In the second game of the day, Singapore also met a very determined Tanzania side. The height differential proved to be a major hurdle for the smaller Singapore side who struggled to compete against a spirited Tanzanian attack losing 52 -36.

In particular, Tanzanian GS Mwanaidi Hassan proved a formidable opponent, towering more than 14cm over defenders Micky Lin and Premila Hirubalan at 193cm.

Following a number of switches in the Singapore formation and the introduction of Li Ling in the second half as GS, the home side staged a strong comeback in the final quarter  but it was too late to regain control.

Speaking after the match, GK Premila Hiribalan, said: “We only managed to settle down in the last quarter which is not good enough.”

She added that the home side had failed to play to their strengths and were a bit tentative but defiantly promised “we’ll come back in the next few days.”

Analysing Singapore’s performance, National coach, Kate Carpenter added, “We made a lot of errors and were very hesitant with the ball and created turnovers, but put ourselves into error and weren’t able to score on those opportunities.” Regarding lessons learned she said, “It’s short and sweet, we need to toughen up and get amongst it!”

In the final game of the day, Wales overwhelmed India in their second victory of the tournament winning 74 - 17. The final score sheet reflected a very strong Welsh defense and consistent shooting throughout with Wales retaining dominance in each quarter.

With the European sides registering two wins in a row, tomorrow’s match between Scotland and Wales at 8pm will be a hotly anticipated contest. Singapore will kick start proceedings meeting the other African side Namibia at 4pm while India play Tanzania at 6pm.

Match 1: Scotland 59 v Namibia 43 (HT: 28 – 22)
Match 2: Tanzania 52 v Singapore 36 (HT: 25-14)
Match 3: Wales 74 v India 17(HT: 36 – 9)