A clinical Belgium won the first Test of the two-Test series against the Investec South Africa women’s hockey team 3-1 at Randburg Hockey Stadium Saturday.

Belgium led 1-0 at half-time through Stephanie de Groof before Alix Gerniers added another 12 minutes after the break. SA pulled one back via a Kate Woods penalty corner but a Sofie Gierts penalty stroke restored the two-goal margin three minutes from the end.

Mindful of what is sure to be a physically taxing Olympic Qualifier Tournament in Delhi that starts in a fortnight’s time, SA’s 33-year-old world record goalscorer Pietie Coetzee was rested for the third consecutive match, while Lesle-Ann George (Free State) and Jade Mayne (WP) celebrated their 150th and 50th Test appearances respectively.

Photo by: Lee Warren (Gallo)

Belgium earned a soft PC in the third minute and De Groof opened the scoring. Soon after, Annie-Sophie van Regemortel shot wide. Belgium won a second and third PC but sound defence from goalkeeper Sanani Mangisa and first wave defender Sulette Damons dispelled the danger

In the 25 minutes to half-time SA got into several very good positions in the strike zone and were most unfortunate when Belgian umpire Laurine Delforge disallowed what looked to be a textbook goal finished off by Damons after nifty work down the right channel from co-striker Dirkie Chamberlain.

By the 26th minute SA won their first PC and were dominating the game but didn’t take advantage of further genuine goalscoring opportunities as the half-time clock wound down.

After the re-start SA strikers Lauren Penny and Chamberlain had shots saved by keeper Aisling D’Hooghe, Damons came close once again before Belgium’s Emilie Sinia shot into the side-netting. In the 47th minute Belgium went 2-0 up against the run of play through Alix Gerniers.

The revitalised Belgians enjoyed a productive spell and skilful captain Charlotte de Vos earned her side’s fourth PC before Helene Delmee was agonisingly close. A turnover resulted in Belgium’s fifth PC and De Groof’s slap-shot was padded away by Mangisa.

SA continued to mount goal-threatening moves and with seven minutes left captain Marsha Marescia, in her 275th Test match – the most capped athlete in any SA team sport – showed true grit in shrugging off heavy tackles to win the girls in green and gold’s second PC, which Woods smashed into the backboard (2-1).

Belgium hit back and their sixth PC saw an Anouk Raes strike result in Delforge awarding a disputed penalty stroke, which the superb Sofie Gierts flashed into the roof of the net three minutes from time (3-1).

The second Test is at 11 am Sunday at Randburg.

The South African Hockey Association released the names Friday of the national men’s team that will take on world number four Great Britain and top Dutch club Pinoke in Stellenbosch and Cape Town early next month.

The three-Test series against Great Britain forms part of the SA team’s preparation for the crucial Olympic Qualifier Tournament in Japan from April 26 to May 6, which SA have to win in order to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Head coach Gregg Clark’s team will meet Great Britain – an Olympic Games-only team which is predominantly made up of England players – in three Test matches. The first Test is at 7 pm next Friday, February 3 at Hartleyvale Hockey Stadium in Cape Town.

Great Britain, made up of England, Scotland and Wales, only play in the Olympic Games. The three countries play as separate entities in other international tournaments.

Clark is working with a larger squad, so there are six changes from the SA team that lost 3-1 to India in a five-Test series in Delhi this month.

While acknowledging the enormity of taking on the world’s fourth-ranked team, the head coach cited a number of improvements he is looking for against Great Britain as well as Pinoke.

“We are moving in the right direction in terms of structure and general play. I am happier with our penalty corner defence, but we still conceded four goals from 16 corners in Delhi so there is room for improvement. The conversion rate on our own corners was reasonably high at the Champions Challenge in Randburg last November/December but in Delhi we only scored one from 16, which is very poor.”

Clark said the strikers are still leaving too many goals on the table but it was exciting that the team is creating lots of opportunities, a sign that the build-up play was spot on.

Conceding soft goals has long plagued the SAteam and while there were some in Delhi, there was an improvement nevertheless.

Unlike the Investec SA women’s side, which has spent six of the last 18 months together and played around 100 Test matches, the world number 12 national men’s team do not have a major sponsor and as a consequence are probably the most under-prepared team in the world top 20.

“There is a lot of quality in our team but the fact we spend so much time apart means it is difficult to generate momentum and brings added pressure, as we often have to go from one major tournament to the next with little in between,” said Clark.

As the moment of truth in Japan gets ever closer, the recent Delhi trip and now the three Great Britain matches plus the two against Pinoke are most welcome.

SA MEN’S TEAM

Rassie Pieterse, Lance Louw, Clint Panther, Thornton McDade (all Southern Gauteng); Andrew Cronje, Austin Smith (capt), Ian Haley, Lloyd Norris-Jones (all Western Province); Brendon Botes (Eastern Province); Justin Reid-Ross, Rhett Halkett, Jonty Robinson (all Northern Blues); Wade Paton, Lloyd Madsen, Gareth Carr, Tim Drummond, Marvin Harper (KZN Coastal Raiders); Julian Hykes (Amatole-Border).

FIXTURES

03 Feb SA vs GB  at Hartleyvale at 19h00
07 Feb SA vs GB at Stellenbosch at 19h00
09 Feb SA vs Pinoke at Hartleyvale at 19h00
11 Feb SA vs GB at Stellenbosch at 19h00
12 Feb SA vs Pinoke at Hartleyvale at 11h00

SA scored first half goals through Ricky West 26th minute, Ian Haley 31st and Miguel Da Graca 34th with India replying after half-time via the sticks of Yuvraj Walmiki 43rd, V. R. Raghunath 49th ans S.K. Uthappa 66th.

India won the series 3-1 with one match drawn.

India 3 (Yuvraj Walmiki 43, V. R. Raghunath 49, S.K. Uthappa 66) South
Africa 3 (Ricky West 26, Ian Haley 31, Miguel Da Graca 34)
H-t: 0-3
Match drawn; India win five-match series 3-1.

Fans at Randburg Hockey Stadium will be hoping the Investec SA women’s hockey team follow the example of the national men’s side when they take on Spain in the third of the five-Test Investec International Series at 7 pm tonight.

The SA men beat eight-time Olympic gold medallists India 3-1 in Delhi this afternoon after leading 2-0 at half-time, the goals coming from a Lloyd Madsen penalty stroke in the 21st minute, Ian Haley on the half-time whistle and his younger brother Craig in the 55th minute. Ace penalty corner drag-flicker Sandeep Singh netted for India in the 49th minute.

“It was a great performance and the first time the South African men’s team have have beaten India since 2004,” said delighted SA captain Austin Smith.

“We moved the ball exceptionally well and put India under a lot of pressure, closing down their space, while our basics were far better.”

The five-Test series stands at 2-1 to India after they won the first and second Tests 4-0 and 2-1 respectively.

Captain Marsha Marescia’s Investec SA women’s team trail Spain 1-0 in the series after going down 3-2 in the second Test, the first having been drawn 1-1.

After nine days of tough and uncompromising hockey, the South African men’s team finished a credible third out of eight. Credible, but not satisfactory enough for a team that needed to finish with a gold or silver medal in order for SASCOC to approve their qualification for the London Olympic Games next year. In my view, this would have been achieved had the team played at the quality levels seen from them at last year’s FIH World Cup, or Commonwealth Games in Delhi. 

Overall, their style of play was far too negative for my liking. Too often, the midfielders would play the ball backwards after winning possession in the middle of the field rather than be on the front foot and put the opposition defence under pressure. Once the halves had possession they would invariably pass the ball around the back, again without purpose, and all attacking momentum would be lost.  Halves that dwelled on the ball were often robbed of possession when pressed, or gave it away cheaply when searching for the long pass and not the simple, obvious one.

What you may see in the short highlights package on Supersport is Captain Austin Smith making a neat run or two down the middle of the field and setting up a goal scoring opportunity. It is true that when this happens he provides much of the attacking momentum, along with the Paton brothers. What you won’t see in the highlights package, however, is the number of times he was turned over in midfield or lost his temper. This was definitely not a good tournament for the skipper by his standards. The way in which he snapped at his players when things didn’t go his way, or the frequency of his complaints to the umpires suggests there is still immaturity in his captaincy. Smith wasn’t the only senior player who under-performed though. Had the skipper and the senior players performed, South Africa would have achieved their top two finish and, therefore, already have a spot in the Olympics. This was most evident in their semi-final clash against India. After a superb first half of focused and mature hockey, the South Africans went into the break with a deserved 2-1 lead, looking very comfortable. Only 35 minutes separated them from a place in the final. What was needed in the second half was a big performance from key players, and a captain to keep his team composed and motivated. This never materialized, and the match ended in disappointment, with India coming out 4-2 winners.

I really felt sorry for the strikers, as they didn’t get much quality service up front. However, when the midfielders did manage to transfer the ball to the forwards they simply didn’t do enough with it. The strikers bled away possession over and over again, and didn’t seem to combine enough to spark potent goal-scoring opportunities. With this in mind it was not surprising that there was a lack of field-goals, compared to the amount we saw scored at the World Cup last year. Luckily for South Africa though, Justin Reid-Ross was in red-hot scoring form from penalty corners. Reid-Ross shared the top goal-scorer of the tournament award with Belgium’s Tom Boon. If it wasn’t for his nine goals, the home team could’ve finished lower than they did. Apart from his powerful drag-flicks, Reid-Ross was immense in defence, composed on the ball and easily South Africa’s stand out player of the tournament.

A hot topic amongst the supporters is who is SA’s number one goal-keeper? Brendan Botes has shown some magnificent form of late and was the man for the job for the Africa Cup in Zimbabwe in September, so he duly had the reigns for Champs Challenge. However, Rassie Pieterse was solid in the goals in the bronze medal match against the Argentinians, his only game of the tournament, and is showing signs that he is getting back to his best after a period of poor form. To me, it’s great to have two high calibre goal-keepers in top form, so we shouldn’t be too concerned about who plays and who doesn’t, as both are quality shot-stoppers.

The fact that the South African men’s hockey team finished with a bronze medal while not playing particularly good hockey is an encouraging sign. It means that they are still capable of more, capable of finishing higher in world tournaments, and capable of climbing the world rankings into the top 10. So now to Japan in April/May, where I have no doubt they will finally qualify for the London Olympics. But, some things have to change.

Article by: Anonymous

SA TEAM

Goalkeepers: Rassie Pieterse (Southern Gauteng), Jacques Le Roux (WP). Defenders: Justin Reid-Ross (Northern Blues), Lloyd Madsen (KZN Coastal Raiders), Lance Louw (SG), Rhett Halkett (NB),  Ricky West (NB), Clinton Panther (SG). Midfielders: Austin Smith (WP, capt), Jonty Robinson (NB), Taine Paton, Tim Drummond (both KZN), Nic Gonsalves (NB). Strikers: Lloyd Norris-Jones (WP), Julian Hykes (Amatole-Border), Craig Haley, Ian Haley (both WP), Miguel da Graca (SG).

Management – Coach: Gregg Clark; Assistant Coach: David Viney; Manager: Anton van Rooyen; Goalkeeper Coach: David Staniforth; Video Analyst: Mo Malebye; Physio: Kate-Lyn Temple-Jones.

SA Hockey Association media release.

Congratulations to the SA Team.

 Source: www.worldhockey.org

An ecstatic Belgium side celebrated a dramatic last-gasp victory over eight-times Olympic champions India in the final of the FIH Champions Challenge 1 in Johannesburg and are set to make their first ever appearance in the prestigious Champions Trophy.

Tom Boon put the icing on the cake for Belgium when he scored a last-minute winner after his side had mounted a magnificent second-half comeback, fighting back from 3-1 down to win an absorbing final.

Both teams treated a packed appreciative crowd to a high quality contest, filled with mesmerising skills, extraordinary goals and packed with drama right up until the final whistle.

It was billed as the battle between the two Australia-born coaches with Belgium’s Colin Batch getting the better of his compatriot Michael Nobbs. There is nothing the crowd appreciates more than attacking play and plenty of goal mouth action and the famed Aussie style went down a treat.

India’s clinical precision at the penalty corner saw them take a 2-0 lead and after the Europeans pulled one back in the second-half, Shivendra Singh restored his side’s cushion jinking his way along the by-line before scoring from a seemingly impossible angle.

But you simply had to admire Belgium’s never-say-die attitude and as they pushed forward relentlessly they scored three times in the final quarter to clinch the gold medal. For their heroic first-choice goalkeeper, David van Rysselberghe, who was side-lined after dislocating his shoulder in the semi-final, it was a moment to savour.

TOURNAMENT AWARDS

Best Player: Sandeep Singh (India)

Best Goalkeeper: David van Rysselberghe (Belgium)

Top Goalscorer: 8 – Justin Reid-Ross (South Africa) and Tom Boon (Belgium)

Fair Play: South Africa

BRONZE MEDAL: SOUTH AFRICA 3  ARGENTINA 1

South Africa gave their huge crowd of supporters plenty to cheer when they atoned for the disappointment at losing the semi-final to capture the bronze medal with a convincing performance against the Pan-American champions.

Had the home team not spurned a succession of clear-cut chances they would have won by a much greater margin. Under pressure for much of the second-half when they led 2-1, goalkeeper Erasmus Pieterse made a brilliant save in the 48^th minute clearing to safety what might have been the equaliser.

Two minutes from time, Lloyd Norris-Jones sealed the triumph with a simple tap-in from close range following a sweeping South Africa counter attack.

Austin Smith, the South Africa captain and linchpin in the midfield, said he thought the side were still capable of playing much better. He said: “We were scrappy and wasted a lot of opportunities – enough to have doubled the scoreline.”

But he was delighted to have beaten opponents ranked 8^th in the world, five places above the SA squad. “This result makes up for losing the semi-final – sort of” he added. “It still doesn’t give us an Olympic place. But we have learnt from our mistakes and will continue to work on our weak areas.”

5/6^th: MALAYSIA 3  POLAND 0

Malaysia finished their campaign on a high note securing a top five finish thanks to a goal in each half by Tengku Ahmad. After a disappointing start to the tournament and a couple of narrow defeats, the Malaysians have shown gradual improvement throughout the event with their young striker Faizal Saari in particular catching the eye.

Next up for the Malaysians is the Olympic qualifier in Dublin in March. Tai Beng Hai, Malaysia’s coach said his squad needed to finish more clinically and sort out several mistakes. However, he was happy there is a series against China before they travel to Ireland which would serve as excellent preparation.

7/8^th: JAPAN 7  CANADA 2

Japan stunned Canada for the second time in the tournament following up their 2-1 victory in the pool matches with an emphatic win to clinch 7^th place. The result sealed a dismal run for the Canadians who were completely outplayed by an ambitious Japan side.

Toshiro Tachibana and Genki Mitani each netted a brace to set Japan on their way as they head for the Olympic qualifier in their own country in April. Japan’s coach Wook Kang-Keon said his team had set out to take the game to their opponents adding: “We still need to improve our scoring skills and we’ll be working hard between now and April.”

Source: www.worldhockey.org

After a slow start Belgium cruised in to the semi-finals scoring three second-half goals to complete a comfortable win. The European side took control early on but only managed to breach Canada’s defence in the 23^rd minute when Florent van Aubel deftly deflected the ball past David Carter in goal at a penalty corner.

Despite being ranked one place above Belgium at 11^th in the world rankings, Canada were under pressure for most of the play after the break as Belgium dominated the exchanges. They added three more goals to their account with Canada disappointed to have a “goal” disallowed after mounting a late charge. Pushing forward they forced two penalty corners in last minute but failed to reduce the deficit.

Colin Batch, the Belgium coach, said he was pleased to come away with a 4-0 victory adding: “Canada are always hard to break down and you can never take anything for granted. I think the most important thing was that the team experienced playing in a knock-out phase of a tournament.”

ARGENTINA 5 POLAND 1

If Argentina thought they were going to have it all their own way against Poland who have struggled throughout the tournament, they were mistaken. They made sure of securing their place in the last four but it was the Poles grabbed an early lead surprising their opponents who quickly regained the initiative to take a 3-1 lead at the break.

The highlights were some thrilling goals by Argentina who carved out openings with some skilful attacking moves much to the delight of the crowd. Two more goals followed to complete the scoreline but it belied a sustained period in the second-half when Poland camped in Argentina’s half and were unlucky not to be rewarded after creating numerous chances.

Pablo Lombi, the Argentina coach, was far from happy after the contest saying his side were poor in the attacking third of the pitch. “I don’t know why the players were so slow and we can definitely play better than that – they might have found it difficult to create some dynamism once they were leading 3-1.” he said. “But we will definitely have to improve when we meet Belgium in the semi-final.”

INDIA 5 MALAYSIA 4 (golden goal)

Talk about nerve-wracking! V.R. Raghunath powered home a penalty corner golden goal at the end of extra time to send a jubilant India team in to the semi-finals. In a pulsating contest Malaysia fought back doggedly to come from 2-0 down to take a 4-2 lead, before being reeled back as India scored twice in the in the last six minutes to send the game to extra-time.

Few games will be played closer to the nerve endings and with an array of breathtaking skills on show the scoreline was always in doubt until the final whistle. Played in persistent rain, there was no shortage of action with three India players being shown first-half yellow cards and two players from Malaysia given temporary suspensions after the turnaround.

Extra-time brought out the best in both sides which showed unwavering commitment as they pushed hard for the winner. With play swinging from end-to-end and chances created and spurned, the dreaded shoot-out loomed. Nine seconds from time India earned a penalty corner and Raghunath stepped up to crush Malaysia’s hopes of reaching the last four.

JAPAN 2 SOUTH AFRICA 3

South Africa withstood a spirited late fight back by Japan to qualify for the semi-finals and keep alive their dreams of reaching the final but they needed to dig deep after Japan pulled two goals back after being 3-0 down.

Apparently cruising thanks to a superb hat-trick of penalty corner goals by Justin Reid-Ross – the first treble in the tournament – the hosts survived some anxious moments as Japan hit back with their helter-skelter style to unsettle the South Africa defence, scoring twice in a four minute spell midway through the second half.

South African midfielder Wade Paton said the side had lost control but had managed to regain their composure with some excellent defending. “We didn’t play well in that period” he said, “but we’re delighted to be through.”

The only lower-ranked team to triumph in the quarter-finals, the result sets up a re-match of their group game which India won 7-4.

Source: www.worldhockey.org