February 10, 2023 History was made by the USA men and South African women as they secured their first-ever semifinal spots at the FIH Hockey World Cup in Pretoria, South Africa. After a thrilling day of quarterfinal clashes, the final four places were determined with defending champions Austria up against Iran while the Netherlands will take on the USA for a spot in the men’s final. 2018 bronze medallists Iran earned their semifinal spot in dramatic fashion, coming from 0-3 down in the third quarter to beat eighth-ranked Belgium in a shootout. The Iranians managed to level the scores at 5-5 in the 37thminute and it then took an incredible 18 shots to decide the winners in the subsequent shootout. Iran captain Behdad Beiranvand believed it was his team’s experience and composure that made all the difference.“Our team is more experienced than the Belgian team at the World Cup and four years ago we were in the semifinal,” he said. “So our team members are older and more experienced than theirs. I think that’s the main reason we won this game.” Austria were next to secure their safe passage through to the final four with a 2-0 victory over Argentina, but it wasn’t until well into the third quarter that they first found the back of the net. Austrian captain Leon Thörnblom was full of praise for the tournament debutants. “It was a very tactical game. They played with great discipline and it was really tough to get through their defensive setup,” he said. “We would have liked to score a bit earlier but it’s a quarterfinal – you just have to win those, it doesn’t matter how.” Meanwhile, both the USA and Namibia were looking to extend their history-making runs at the World Cup – with the quarterfinals being unchartered territory for both teams. It was the Americans who had the edge. Namibia scored in the final minute of the match, but it was not enough to prevent a 3-2 win for the USA. Captain Pat Harris, who represented the US in both their previous appearances at the World Cup, in 2003 and 2011 where they twice finished in 11th place, said: “It’s huge for us. This is the first time the US has even got out of the pool stages and the semifinals is the biggest success we’ve had with the men’s team so this is tremendous. “For us it was another tough game. Namibia defended really well. They stood deep and we had to be really patient to find the openings. I’m glad we did and got the lead and then keep building our game.” The Dutch were in rampant mood against hosts South Africa in the last men’s quarterfinal. The 2015 world champions racked up a 5-0 lead by half time. The home side suddenly came alive in the final quarter, scoring three goals of their own. But when the Dutch added another one to their own tally, the fightback fizzled out. In the women’s tournament, the Czech Republic were the first side to book their place in the semifinals with a comprehensive 6-0 victory over Australia. Czech captain Katerina Lacina said: “It’s an amazing feeling. We were a little bit nervous… we started a little bit slower than we wanted but in the end we scored a lot of goals so we are really happy about that.” Austria were up next, notching up a 3-1 victory over Ukraine “I think it was the mindset. I think we were very focused, our structure was very good, and we stayed very calm. I think that was the key and why we scored three goals,” said Austrian captain Miriam Gerö. Both Belgium and South Africa were seeking their first-ever appearances in the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup semifinals when they met in the third women’s quarterfinal of the day. It was the host nation who benefited from the backing of a fervent home crowd to produce their best World Cup result to date. A goal from South African captain Jess O’Connor off a penalty corner edged her side in front and Tegan Fourie doubled their lead just before halftime. But the Belgians came back through a final-quarter goal, and they were a nervous final few minutes until the 2-1 home win was secured. A thrilled South African coach, Lennie Botha, said: “It’s the dream game that you’re waiting for. We’ve worked very hard on our discipline and our structures and that’s what’s got us to where we are. The girls are committed and special… I just can’t believe it.” In the final matchup of the day, it took 15 minutes for the Netherlands to breach the Canadian defence. But two hattricks, from Lieke van Wijk and Donja Zwinkels, steered the two-time world champions to a resounding 6-1 victory. The Dutch will take on South Africa in Saturday’s semifinals while Austria will play the Czech Republic. 10 February 2023 Results   Result: Match 31 – women New Zealand 4 – 3 Namibia Player of the match: Kirsten Pearce (NZL) Umpires: Ornpimol Kittiteerasopon (THA), Cathy Wright (WAL)   Result: Match 32 – women USA 5 – 1 Kazakhstan Player of the match: Hannah Miller (USA) Umpires: Narongtuch Subboonsong (THA), Lyndal Robertson (RSA)   Result: Match 32 – men Iran 5 (6) – 5 (5) Belgium Player of the match: Reza Norouzzadeh (IRI) Umpires: Ayden Shrives (RSA), Adam Barry (AUS)   Result: Match 33 – women Czech Republic 6 – 0 Australia Player of the match: Katerina Lacina (CZE) Umpires: Cathy Wright (WAL), Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL)   Result: Match 31 – men Austria 2 – 0 Argentina Player of the match: Michael Körper (AUT) Umpires: Sean Edwards (ENG), Rachel Williams (ENG)   Result: Match 34 – women Austria 3 – 1 Ukraine Player of the match: Stella van Rahden (AUT) Umpires: Melina Illanes (ARG), Celine Martin-Schmets (BEL)   Result: Match 34 – men USA 3 – 2 Namibia Player of the match: Aki Kaeppeler (USA) Umpires: Lee Barron (ENG), Diego

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The SPAR South African Indoor Hockey side continued their historic run at the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup on Friday night as a capacity crowd watched them defeat Belgium 2-1 to secure the first World Cup semi-final for any African nation. South Africa began the day by celebrating Jess Lardant reaching the milestone of 50 games for the country. SPAR South Africa had built their run in the tournament on the back of gritty defensive stability, arguably being the strongest defensive outfit at the tournament. But they came out firing in the early exchanges and may have taken an early lead had Kayla de Waal not fired it narrowly wide. The hosts were on top and the goal came through their fantastic captain. The African’s won a penalty corner, took it from the reverse side and produced a sensational strike from the skipper to open the scoring. Kayla de Waal had a couple of chances but the goal would eventually come from the stick of tournament star Tegan Fourie. The ball was passed through every player on the court and eventually a reverse pass by Jess Lardant opened the defence up. It connected with Tegan Fourie, who took the space on offer and fired home. At the half time break the South Africans were good value for a 2-0 lead. In the third quarter South Africa looked more likely to add to the scoring as Jamie Southgate fired in a shot from an acute angle and Tegan Fourie saw her shot trickle wide. The South Africans continued to defend like the Trojan army as the third quarter ended with Belgium still having only two shots at goal The Belgians would be given a lifeline when they played a superb through ball picked up the striker and a sensational touch diverted it past Cheree Greyvenstein to silence the crowd and give the visitors belief. But as had been the case for most teams in the tournament, they found it incredibly tough to break down the South Africans. Even pulling their keeper off to launch an all out attack didn’t not create the outcomes they were hoping for and South Africa sealed a famous win. The South Africans will next play Netherlands in the semi-final on Saturday afternoon before a potential final awaits later on the same day.   Congratulations to Jessica Lardant who today earns her 50th cap for the SPAR South Africa Womens Indoor Hockey Team #IHWC2023 pic.twitter.com/2MB2bRsIsV — SA Hockey (@SA_Hockey) February 10, 2023   Source: SAHockey.co.za | February 10, 2023

The South Afircan Indoor Hockey Men had already achieved their best ever finish at an FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup by securing a Quarter Final spot. They however had loftier ambitions and took to the court in an attempt to emulate their female compatriots in qualifying for the Semi-Finals. The Dutch though, heavily favoured, would have their own ideas and would produce a devastating and dominant Dutch first half to lead 5-0 at the half time break. They opened the scoring through captain Burkhart who fired past van Loggerenberg on the second attempt. Goals were added by a whipping finish from Wiegert Schut, a Joep Troost wonder goal and Bakker before Burkhart made it 5-0. The South Africans however showed characteristic fight and pushed forward from the back pulling a goal back through Chad Futcher. The South Africans removed their keeper and almost immediately found a second through Dayaan Casseim with a powerful reverse stick finish. The Netherlands feeling outnumbered decided to remove their keeper and match the South Africans and it added to the spectacle. South Africa won a stroke when Cassiem’s shot was saved on the line and Mustapha stood up confident to score from the stroke. Instead the best stroke save of the tournament was made low to deny the South African top scorer. He wouldn’t be denied for long as he showed tenacity to find a second and the stadium started almost literally rocking under the vibrance of the crowd. But unfortunately as time ran out the Dutch added a final goal and the South African men bid farewell to a tournament in which they played a massive part in the lasting impact of the tournament. For Netherlands the dream of repeating the 2015 success continues to live and breath as they Orange Army will next take on USA in the semi-finals.   Source: SAHockey.co.za | February 10, 2023

The quarterfinal lineup was completed after several scintillating performances on the final day of pool matches at the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Pretoria, South Africa. The men’s Pool B clash between the Czech Republic and Iran produced a 16-goal thriller. The Czechs led 6-3 by the 25th minute but the feisty Iranians came back at them. Just like they had done against South Africa the day before, a final-minute goal clinched a dramatic, last-gasp draw for Iran. The 8-8 draw was enough to see the Iranians through to the quarterfinals, but there was disappointment for the fourth-ranked Czech Republic who are now left to fight it out for the minor places. The other Pool B battle, between South Africa and Argentina, was another entertaining, high-scoring affair, which saw the hosts snatching a 5-4 win with another Mustapha Cassiem goal in the final minute. “It was our goal at the start [to make it into the quarterfinals]… it means everything,” said a thrilled South African captain, Jethro Eustice. “It was emotionally and physically demanding, everything that needed to be put in was in there today. I think that was probably the turning point in the last minute, that we all looked at each other and said all we need is one chance and one chance we got and we took it. It’s emotional and exciting at the same time.” Despite the loss, Argentina are also through to the quarterfinals thanks to their earlier victories over Iran and Australia. In the other men’s pool it was Namibia who booked the final top-four spot despite a 4-4 draw with New Zealand. “I’m a bit disappointed we let them back into the game there, but at least we’re in the quarters,” said Namibian coach Trevor Cormack afterwards. “Now the tournament starts all over again so we’ve got to focus on that and we’ll give our best again.” Austria, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic had already secured their quarterfinal places before the final pool matches of the women’s tournament but the other spots were yet to be determined. There was double joy for the home crowd when the South African women claimed their second victory of the tournament, beating New Zealand 6-3 to qualify for the top eight. “It’s an amazing achievement, the highest we have finished in a tournament like this,” said South African captain Jess O’Connor.” We know we have a tough one tomorrow, so we will get some rest now and then try to focus on keeping the winning momentum.” Australia went down 2-4 to Austria in their final pool match, but still progressed thanks to their earlier victories against the USA and New Zealand. In Pool B, it was Belgium, Ukraine and Canada who joined the already-qualified Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. Belgium defeated Canada 1-0 thanks to a third-quarter goal from Claire Barry, and the Canadians then faced an anxious wait for the outcome of the final pool clash between Ukraine and Kazakhstan to discover whether they’d done enough to progress. That match ended in a 3-3 draw, with one point not enough to see the Kazakhs through ahead of Canada. Belgian captain Laurine Delforge said: “We came here as one of the lowest-ranked teams and we had one goal and that was to get out of the pool stage. Today we managed to secure the point that we needed to go through. It’s only our second World Cup… and to manage to qualify for the quarterfinals really means a lot to us but also for our country and for indoor sports in Belgium.” Canadian coach Shankar Premakanthan was particularly proud of his team’s performance, having finished the group stages with one loss, one win and three draws. “We have a very young team at this tournament and I’m so proud of what they’ve accomplished,” he said. “We were a hair away from getting a result in this one and we’ve been in every single match in this tournament so far. So I’m disappointed with this result but I’m super-proud of the effort and the progress this group has made… how we’ve played is tremendous. I think we grew with every game.” Friday’s men’s quarterfinal clashes will see Belgium facing Iran while defending world champions Austria are up against Argentina, the USA take on Namibia, and the Netherlands play South Africa. In the women’s tournament, the Czech Republic face Australia, Austria take on Ukraine, Belgium play South Africa and the Netherlands are up against Canada in a bid to reach Saturday’s semifinals. 9 February 2023 Results   Result: Match 25 – women Netherlands 3 – 2 USA Player of the match: Elizabeth Tamburro (USA) Umpires: Ornpimol Kittiteerasopon (THA), Cathy Wright (WAL) Result: Match 25 – men South Africa 6 – 5 Argentina Player of the match: Chad Futcher (RSA) Umpires: Adam Barry (AUS), Sean Edwards (ENG)   Result: Match 26 – women South Africa 6 – 3 New Zealand Player of the match: Daniela de Oliveira (RSA) Umpires: Sophie Bockelmann (GER), Rachel Williams (ENG   Result: Match 26 – men USA 4 – 2 Australia Player of the match: Stuart Kentwell (USA) Umpires: Lee Barron (ENG), Ayden Shrives (RSA) Result: Match 27 – women Australia 2 – 4 Austria Player of the match: Katharina Bauer (AUT) Umpires: Lyndal Robertson (RSA), Cathy Wright (WAL) Result: Match 27 – men Czech Republic 8 – 8 Iran Player of the match: Tomas Prochazka (CZE) Umpires: Diego Barbas (ARG), Rachel Williams (ENG) Result: Match 28 – women Belgium 1 – 0 Canada Player of the match: Claire Barry (BEL) Umpires: Lukasz Zwierzchowski (POL), Ornpimol Kittiteerasopon (THA) Result: Match 28 – men Belgium 1 – 7 Netherlands Player of the match: Boris Burkhardt (NED) Umpires: Lee Barron (ENG), Adam Barry (AUS) Result: Match 29 – women Namibia 0 – 6 Czech Republic Player of the match: Anna Vorlova (CZE) Umpires: Lyndal Robertson (RSA), Sean Edwards (ENG) Result: Match 29 – men Austria 9 – 2 Kazakhstan Player of the match: Michael

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A defensive masterclass from the SPAR South African ladies in their pool game against Australia at the FIH Hockey Indoor World Cup on Wednesday set up an easy scenario on Thursday morning. Defeat New Zealand and qualify for the Quarter-Finals. Spurred on by a crowd awash with school kids from the Tshwane region, the South Africans looked to break down a stubborn New Zealand defense and they eventually managed to do so when Tegan Fourie converted her third of the tournament just before the half time hooter. In the third quarter the South Africans raised the tempo and pulled the game out of the New Zealand reach as Danny de Oliviera, Jess O’Connor and Jess Lardant all fired home from penalty corners pulling the South Africans forward. South Africa saw their lead cut down by 1 when Deanna Richie fired low and hard past Nepo Serage, but Laiken Brisset stretched the lead back to 4 when she converted on the end of a Robyn Johnson pass for her first international goal. New Zealand showed a mini-fightback to net twice. Once from Norman at a penalty corner before an opportunistic strike from Ritchie raised heart rates in the arena slightly. But there was no worry for the South Africans as Kayla de Waal as she fired in a rebound high and celebrated with relief as much as joy. South Africa has now secured their first ever Quarter Final place at the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup and will await eagerly the outcome of who their opponent will be on Friday Night at Heartfelt Arena.   Source: SAHockey.co.za