ACN 2022 | South Africa first side to seal semi-final berth with victory over Namibia

    South Africa took on their Southern African counterparts Namibia on day 2 of the 2022 African Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana. With both sides having won their opening games, a victory for the South Africans would secure a semi-final spot thanks to Zimbabwe’s victory over Uganda. South Africa started the game with good determination and looked more settled on the pitch after struggling in their opening match. Lilian du Plessis put the South Africans ahead as she continues a remarkable goal scoring record at the Continental Championship. The South Africans were made to toil for their second, which eventually came from a penalty corner which was not cleared. Stephanie Botha reacted first and with a low shot fired her first International Goal into the bottom right corner. As coach Inky Zondi was preparing his half time talk, he had to probably change a few sentences though when Tarryn Lombard added the third for South Africa, her second of the tournament and put a bit of gloss onto the scoreboard at the break. South Africa struck the first blow of the second half when Nomnikelo Veto reacted first to a loose ball and assisted Tegan Fourie, who would not miss. 4-0 to the defending champions. If the Namibians were hoping for the barrage to stop, they would be left hopeless as Lombard popped up with a clinical display that gave the Namibians no chance. It was Nomnikelo Veto who made it six of the best when she finished after Robyn Johnson’s shot was saved from close quarters. Although South Africa were still able to win several penalty corners in the last few minutes of the game they were unable to convert any further opportunities and ultimately the match finished 6-0 to the South Africans. As a result of the victory, coupled with Zimbabwe’s win, South Africa are now guaranteed of a place in the semi-finals and their quest to qualify for the FIH Hockey World Cup continues. The team will still have to finish the group stage when they take on Uganda on Thursday at 19:00 South African Time. Phumelela Mbande, captain of the South African team, shared her thoughts on the match. “We were a lot more intentional and ruthless today. We try to improve game on game and our execution was far better. We will continue to learn as we progress through the tournament and look to deliver on our potential!” AFCON 2022 – Day 2 Results Women Pool A South Africa 13-0 Namibia Zimbabwe 5-0 Uganda Pool B Nigeria 2-1 Zambia Kenya 0-5 Ghana (Kenya Forfeit the game) Source: SAHockey.co.za

    Argentina tops the polls in FIH Best of 2021 fan vote

    Media Release – Argentina tops the polls in FIH Best of 2021 fan vote

      14 January 2022 Lausanne, Switzerland: The top honours in the FIH Best of 2021 fan vote have both gone the way of Argentina, with the men’s team taking the Best Goal prize and the women the award for Best Match, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) can reveal.  The Best Goal of 2021 award, as voted for by the fans of the sport, goes to Nicolas Keenan’s outrageous smash-shot against host nation Japan in the pool phase of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.  Following an exchange of passes with Juan Lopez, Keenan produced a moment of sporting magic with three touches all within a second of each other, lifting the ball over a defender’s stick at the top of the circle before changing the angle in mid-air and crashing a vicious overhead strike against the backboard of the Japanese goal.  It was a strike of pure, instinctive brilliance from Keenan, a truly iconic moment from a wonderful hockey competition at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.  The fan’s choice for the Best Match of 2021 also came from Tokyo 2020, with Argentina’s superb 3-0 quarter-final triumph over Germany generating the most votes.  Germany’s second place finish behind the Netherlands in Pool A saw them come into the match against Las Leonas, who finished third in Pool B, as marginal favourites. However, the giants of Pan American hockey produced a dominant display against Die Danas, with the deadlock being broken in the 27th minute by Agustina Albertarrio, a goal voted by the fans as the second best of 2021.  A Victoria Granatto penalty corner doubled Argentina’s advantage just before half time, with the result being put beyond all doubt by teenager and FIH Rising Star of the Year 2021 nominee Valentina Raposo, who fired home a superb penalty corner strike to send the eventual silver medallists into the semi-finals.  The top three in both the best goal and best match categories can be found below.  Best Goal of 2021 1st Place: Nicolas Keenan (ARG). Argentina Men v Japan (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 2nd Place: Agustina Albertarrio (ARG). Argentina Women v Germany (Quarter-Final) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 3rd Place: Dayaan Cassiem (RSA). South Africa Men v Belgium (Pool phase) – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Best Match of 2021 1st Place: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Women’s Quarter-Final – Germany 0-3 Argentina 2nd Place: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Men’s Pool B – South Africa 4-3 Germany  3rd Place: Olympic Games Tokyo 2020: Men’s Bronze Medal – Germany 4-5 India To see the complete shortlists for the goal and match of 2021 categories, please click here. For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website. #FavouriteGoal #FavouriteMatch #HockeyInvites

      South Africa finish record high of 9th following defeat of Korea

      Bhubaneshwar 2021 – South Africa finish record high of 9th following defeat of Korea

        South Africa and Korea completed their Junior World Cup 2021 journey as they played out the 9th place playoff. For the Korean’s it was on opportunity to end the tournament that had far loftier ambitions on a high, while the South Africans had the opportunity to complete their highest ever Junior World Cup finish, something they had at least earned a share of before the game. The South Africans started the game of the better and created several opportunities which they were unable to convert and slowly but surely it allowed Korea to develop a foothold in the game. Despite both teams’ best efforts, the half time score line was a fair 0-0. The game sprung to life in the second half when Trevor de Lora surged into the circle only for a mistimed tackle to award the first penalty corner of the game to the South Africans. Skipper Guy Morgan stepped up and produced the most venomous flick of the tournament that almost tore through the net to give the lead to the African nation. South Africa had the momentum and created a few circle penetrations and shots at goal in the immediate minutes after that without scoring. Korea should have levelled as they broke with two strikers, but the opportunity was wasted. As the third quarter ran down there was time for another big South African chance, but it went astray as Marvin Simons fired wide as he lost his balance. One quarter remained with the score 1-0 to South Africa. The men in green and gold went all out in the final quarter, and they sensed their moment to re-write the history books and it was the inspirational Guy Morgan that doubled the lead with his second of the game and sixth of the tournament from another penalty corner. As the celebrations were continuing across the country the South Africans landed another punch, that ultimately had a knockout feeling to it. Trevor de Lora stealing in and finishing superbly. Zenani Kraai though stuck in a fourth after a free-flowing team movement with a late Posthumus touch left an open goal which Kraai found with tremendous joy. 4-0. It should have probably been more as the South Africans missed a few chances that you would be forgiven for thinking they would score, After the game man of the match Guy Morgan shared his thoughts: “We were a bit frustrated by our slow start, but after half-time we got it right and it’s been awesome. Thank you to the organisers, the officials and everyone involved it’s been a wonderful experience for our whole team, and I am extremely proud of our boys!” After a preparation that was plagued by delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, the SA U21 Men have produced a tournament and result to be immensely proud of for the country. 

        Media Release – FIH signs first-ever media rights agreement with SABC 

          22 November 2021 Lausanne, Switzerland: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has signed a media rights agreement with South Africa’s national public broadcaster SABC for the upcoming FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup South Africa 2021. FIH’s flagship event for Women’s Juniors will take place at the North-West University (NWU) of the academic city of Potchefstroom – situated approx. 120 km west-southwest of Johannesburg – from 5 to 16 December 2021. It will involve 16 teams from all around the world. Through this agreement, the SABC will produce all matches of the event and broadcast them in South Africa, either live or delayed. This is the first time that FIH signs a partnership with SABC. Commenting on the news, FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: “The FIH Hockey Junior World Cups are known to be the perfect platforms for future hockey stars to rise! We’re really glad to be partnering with such a recognised broadcaster as SABC, who will help us convey the performance of these hugely talented young female players to all hockey fans in South Africa, and also to the rest of the world, thanks to the production of the international feed. We look forward to an amazing event in South Africa!” Head of Sport for the SABC, Gary Rathbone, indicated that this is an exciting opportunity for the public service broadcaster to showcase international hockey in South Africa. “Hockey is one of the fastest growing sports in SA schools and the SABC is delighted to bring all South Africans who love the game, a chance to see the international stars of the future of Women’s hockey, in action on home soil. Being broadcasted on the SABC platforms means that everyone will be able to access great sporting action that will surely inspire the next generation of SA hockey talent.” For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website.   #RisingStars  

          Teams - South Africa, Botswana and Namibia

          Trio of teams challenge for World Cup qualification

            April 13, 2021 The Indoor African Cup will take place in Thomas Moore College, Kloof., South Africa on 16-18 April. The reward for the winning men’s and women’s teams will be a place at the 2022 FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup to be held in Liège, Belgium. Taking part in the African qualifying competition are three teams that have embraced the indoor game – South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The three teams – men and women – will play a round robin competition to decide who represents the continent at the World Cup. South Africa men will be overwhelming favourites for the title as the highest ranked team –  the men rank 11th in the world. In the women’s event, things are less clear cut. While South Africa women have enjoyed a run of successful test matches in which they defeated Switzerland, Ireland and Poland, Namibia are the higher ranked team – at 9th in the world – courtesy of their participation in the FIH Indoor Hockey World cup 2018. The South Africa women’s squad, which is ranked at 14, is brimful of experienced players, including Cindy Hack and Jess O’Connor, who both have more than 100 caps for the indoor national squad. Also part of the squad are international outdoor players Celia Seerane (nee Evans) and Tegan Fourie. South Africa men have a blend of experience and youth  in the ranks. Justin Domleo has been to two World Cups, and he is joined by Jethro Eustice and Rusten Abrahams who both played in the 2018 Indoor Hockey World Cup in Berlin, Germany. Bongumusa Mngoma and Dan Sibbald will both be making their debuts as international athletes. The South Africa teams will not get an easy ride however. Namibia women defeated South Africa to qualify for the 2018 Indoor Hockey World Cup and will be looking to repeat that performance, while the men have their own aspirations to follow in their female counterpart’s footsteps. Underlining the athlete’s ambitions, President of Namibia Hockey Union (NHU) Marc Nel said: “We are going there to compete and not just to participate. Our drive is to fly the Namibian flag high, so like any other games, we are taking this very seriously. Both teams are ranked in the top 20, with the women’s team ranked 9th, while the men’s team is ranked 17th in the world, which I believe are all good positions for our teams.” Botswana men and women have yet to receive a world ranking but the national team has been training hard. Zimbabwe’s Sharne Mayar will be one of the umpires at the event and she said: “It will be a showcase of amazing talent. It will be three days of really good hockey played by the best nations in Africa. “The game is spreading and growing. We have seen Botswana build a team, and that is very exciting because it is more people playing hockey across the continent at all levels of the game.” The Indoor African Cup will take place on 16-18 April in Thomas Moore College, Kloof. Keep up with results and news via the FIH website. The matches will also be streamed live on the Watch.Hockey App. #IHWC2022 #IndoorHockey Source: FIH.CH