Both South Africa and Great Britain had started the Paris Olympic Games with back-to-back defeats as they met on Wednesday morning in the hope of igniting their Olympic challenge. It was 4-1 to Great Britain when they met in Tokyo. Great Britain had the first opportunity to strike, winning a penalty corner, but they failed to execute a shot on target. South Africa had the next chance, also from a penalty corner. South Africa capitalized as Bobbs’ shot was deflected in by Kayla de Waal for her third goal in the tournament. Paris-Gail Isaacs had a shot go narrowly wide as South Africa was well and truly up for the competition. Without further goal-bound opportunities, the opening quarter came to a conclusion with South Africa leading 1-0. The second quarter struggled for true quality. Great Britain had the first opportunity to strike and won a penalty corner. Amy Costello fired in a low, hard shot that deflected off a South African stick and into the back of the net to make it 1-1. South Africa found space in the circle and Ntsopa Mokoena had a rare opportunity to make some magic, but she was crowded out of the play quickly. Great Britain started to have more of the ball but weren’t doing anything of substance with it. South Africa created another entry from industrious work by Dirkie Chamberlain, but Taheera Augousti was unable to create a shot. The score remained 1-1 at the half-time break. The second half saw South Africa produce another exciting counter-attack with Ntsopa Mokoena and Kayla de Waal combining, only for the former to be denied by a ball-and-all save. Great Britain thought they had found the go-ahead goal when they beat Anelle Lloyd, but they struck the upright. A penalty corner was given to Great Britain, but South Africa reviewed and lost the referral. Although they didn’t make the penalty corner count, Great Britain produced a moment of quality to take the lead. An aerial ball into the circle was collected by Hannah French, who finished on the first attempt to make it 2-1. South Africa should have found themselves level when Thati Zulu effected a turnover and set it through to Celia Seerane, whose shot was inches wide of restoring parity. The third quarter ended with Great Britain leading 2-1. Anelle Lloyd made a good low save from a penalty corner early in the final quarter. South Africa looked to try and find a goal back but were not finding the connections needed. Great Britain had another penalty corner, but Erin Christie charged it down to keep the gap to 1 with 5 minutes remaining. South Africa were guilty of giving the ball away too easily when they were looking to counter, making the task a little easier for the 2016 gold medallists. Thati Zulu drove hard into the circle, but her shot was over the top. Despite their best efforts, the African champions were unable to find a goal, and the game ended 2-1 in favor of Great Britain. Edith Molikoe shared her thoughts post-game: “It was another tough game. We really put in our all. It’s a game we wanted to get a result from so we are disappointed with the result. We are excited with the style of hockey we are playing and we hope that we can add the result in the final two games.” Source: sahockey.co.za | July 31, 2024

30 July, 2024 Paris, France – Day 4: Reigning Olympic men’s gold medallists Belgium recorded an astonishing victory over Tokyo 2020 silver medallists Australia, with Tom Boon netting a sensational hat-trick as the Red Lions triumphed 6-2 to move top of Pool B in an absorbing Olympic Games Paris 2024 hockey encounter. On a day that featured only men’s matches, India and Argentina were also winners in Pool B, while Pool A leaders the Netherlands were pegged back by Great Britain as the race for the quarter-finals heated up on a scorching hot day at the Yves-du-Manoir Hockey Stadium. More information on today’s matches can be found below. For additional information about the Pool Rankings and the various splitters, please click here (Appendix 2, art. 2.2). Men’s Pool A The Netherlands (7pts) finished Day 4 sitting at the top of the standings thanks to a 2-2 draw against Great Britain (5pts), who rescued a valuable point thanks to a brilliant late double from Lee Morton. “I don’t score many” said GB’s Morton on his brace. “It’s my first Olympic goal, and I get to score two.” Third placed Great Britain sit one point behind second placed Germany (6pts), who bounced back from Sunday’s loss to Spain in brilliant style. Gonzalo Peillat (2), Christopher Rühr, Justus Weigand and Mats Grambusch all netted in a 5-2 win over South Africa (1pt), who are fifth in the table. “South Africa showed (by drawing against Great Britain on Sunday) that they can compete on the highest level”, said Germany scorer Rühr. “So we had to play our A-game today, and we played really well and scored five goals, which is not even undeserved.” Spain (4pts) ended the day occupying fourth place in Pool A having twice trailed host nation France (6th – 1pt) – who led early thanks to two wonderful goals from Timothee Clement – before a Pepe Cunill’s 51st minute penalty corner earned a 3-3 draw for the Red Sticks. “We obviously wanted to win this match because we would have had six points and would be in a very good position”, said Spain’s Cunill. Although we drew the match, we know that we gained a really important point that gives us more chances to qualify.” Men’s Pool B Belgium (1st – 9pts) produced easily their best performance of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, crushing Australia (3rd – 6pts) 6-2 thanks to a hat-trick from Tom Boon and additional goals from Alexander Hendrickx, Florent van Aubel and Antoine Kina. The Red Lions thrilled the thousands of watching Belgian fans by securing their place in the competition quarter-finals, although Belgian midfielder Victor Wegnez was cautious in his post-match assessment. “I think we got lucky a few times, and while it is a great result it is only a pool match so we don’t want to get too excited”, said Wegnez, a gold medallist from Tokyo 2020. “It was just amazing to play in front of those fans. It was a pretty much a home crowd, which is the beauty of Belgium being so close to Paris.” Earlier in the day, eight times Olympic champions India (2nd – 7pts) – who are yet to face Australia and Belgium – claimed their second win of the competition, seeing off Ireland (6th – 0pts). Harmanpreet Singh scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over the Green Machine, a result which also confirmed their safe passage through to the quarter-finals. “It was a good result for us”, said India striker Sukhjeet Singh. “We played well in a structured way to stop the Ireland team, so we are very happy.” Rio 2016 gold medallists Argentina (4th – 4 pts) battled to their first victory in Paris, with New Zealand (5th – 0pts) being downed by goals from Tomas Domene and Lucas Martinez. Argentina goal-scorer Thomas Domene said: “For me, it had always been a dream to be in the Olympic Games and I always also imagined scoring a goal. So I’m very happy. I had a lot of confidence in the team. This was a very important game for us.” Further information and statistics on all of today’s matches can be found by clicking here. Notable figures attending the Olympic hockey at Yves-du-Manoir on Day 4 included Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of the British Royal Family and Ms Amélie Oudea Castera, the Minister of Sports for France. The Paris 2024 Olympic hockey competition continues on Wednesday 31 July with six women’s and two men’s matches taking place. In women’s Pool B, Argentina (1st – 6pts) and Spain (3rd – 4pts) meet at 10:00 CEST on Pitch 1, with South Africa (5th – 0pts) taking on Great Britain (6th – 0pts) on Pitch 2 in the 10:30 game. The final Pool B match of the day sees Australia (2nd – 6pts) facing USA (4th – 1pt) on Pitch 2 at 13:15. In Pool A, France (6th – 0pts) clash with Germany (4th – 3pts) at 15:45 on Pitch 1 before Belgium (1st – 6pts) play Japan (5th – 0pts) at 17:00 on Pitch 1. Reigning Olympic champions the Netherlands (2nd – 6pts) are in action in the final match of the day, meeting China (3rd – 3pts) at 20:15 on Pitch 2. The two men’s matches take place in Pool A, with second placed Germany (2nd – 6pts) facing table-topper the Netherlands on Pitch 2 at 17:30 before Spain and South Africa, respectively ranked fourth and fifth, go head-to-head at 1945 on Pitch 1. The hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 take place from Saturday 27 July to Friday 9 August. Both the men’s and women’s competitions feature 12 teams, split into two pools of six ahead of quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches. For more information about the hockey competitions at Paris 2024, visit Olympics.Hockey. Olympic Games Paris 2024 – Hockey 30 July 2024 – Day 4  Results Men’s Pool A Spain 3-3 France South Africa 1-5 Germany Great Britain 2-2 Netherlands Men’s Pool B  Ireland 0-2 India Argentina 2-0 New Zealand Australia 2-6 Belgium Pool standings overviews Men: click here. Women: click here. Source: FIH.hockey

On a blisteringly hot morning at Stade Yves du Manoir, South Africa faced Germany in their third pool stage match. The two teams had previously met in the 2021 pool stage, where South Africa achieved a remarkable victory. This time, they aimed to deliver another memorable performance as a birthday present for head coach Cheslin Gie. However, the match began unfavorably for South Africa. Gonzalo Peillat fired home at the near post, giving Germany an early lead. South Africa quickly earned a penalty corner but failed to convert, keeping the score at 1-0. Using their referral effectively, they overturned a penalty corner and began creating half chances. In the final minute of the quarter, Germany was awarded a penalty stroke, which Christopher Ruhr converted to double the lead. Justus Weigand made it 3-0 for Germany when he found himself open in the circle and finished past Gowan Jones. South Africa had a good chance, but the shot went just wide. The second period was cagey, with few moments of quality, and Germany maintained their 3-0 lead at halftime. Early in the second half, Gowan Jones made several saves before a brilliant counterattack from South Africa almost resulted in a goal, drawing massive appreciation from the crowd. South Africa then won a penalty corner, which Matt Guise-Brown converted to make it 3-1. However, Germany reestablished their three-goal lead when Gonzalo Peillat scored from a penalty corner, with Calvin Davis unable to save on the line. South Africa won another penalty corner after good work from Bili Ntuli, but Mustapha Cassiem’s shot was saved, and his rebound effort went over the crossbar. The third quarter ended with Germany still holding a three-goal advantage. In the fourth quarter, South Africa had an early penalty corner and Germany received a yellow card for the tackle, but the shot was narrowly wide, keeping the gap at three goals. Gowan Jones made another save to deny Niklas Wellen. With three minutes remaining, an error in South Africa’s defense allowed the ball to land on Mats Grambusch’s stick. The German captain fired brilliantly into the top right corner, making it 5-1. Despite the defeat, South Africa’s focus now shifts to their next game against Spain on Wednesday evening, where they will battle for potential quarter-final places. Head Coach Cheslin Gie: “It wasn’t the result we wanted. We played within ourselves at stages, which is quite frustrating. Germany was very efficient and punished all our errors. We are still looking forward to the games against Spain and France, knowing that two victories will put us in the Quarter Finals.” Source: sahockey.co.za | July 30, 2024

South Africa continued their Olympic journey with a challenging encounter against world number 2, Argentina. This match marked just the second meeting between the two sides in Olympic history, with Argentina winning their previous clash by a large margin in London. Adding to the challenge for South Africa, their most experienced player, Dirkie Chamberlain, was ruled out, and Kayla Swart had the opportunity to emulate her older brother and become an Olympian. The game began poorly for South Africa as Argentina scored early. However, the umpires had missed a foot violation, which was well noticed by Erin Christie, leading to the goal being disallowed. Despite Argentina’s pressure, South Africa’s defense, led by Anelle Lloyd, held strong. Near the end of the first quarter, South Africa earned a penalty corner, and Antonet Louw’s low, hard drag shot found the back of the net, giving South Africa the lead. In the second quarter, Argentina won an early penalty corner, but their deflected effort went wide. Despite South Africa’s defensive efforts, Argentina equalized through Augustina Gorzelany’s near-post penalty corner. Argentina continued to threaten but failed to capitalize on their chances, including another disallowed goal for lifting the ball on the first strike from a penalty corner. South Africa produced an outstanding counter-attack led by Taheera Augousti, which saw Celia Seerane’s cross well saved. Shortly after, Kayla Swart’s lifted cross earned South Africa a penalty corner. From this, Quanita Bobbs fed the ball to Kayla de Waal, who deflected it home, putting South Africa ahead 2-1 at halftime—a surprising result. In the second half, Argentina’s frustration showed as they received two green cards, reducing them to nine players for a minute. Despite this, Argentina saw out the suspensions without conceding. An exciting counter-attack from South Africa almost resulted in a goal, but Mokoena couldn’t control the ball in the circle. Argentina won a penalty corner in the final minute of the third quarter but failed to capitalize, leaving the score 2-1 in South Africa’s favor. Early in the final quarter, South Africa missed a counter-attack opportunity, and Argentina quickly won a penalty corner. Gorzelany executed perfectly into the bottom left corner, leveling the score. With 10 minutes remaining, Argentina believed they could win and secured another penalty corner, with Gorzelany completing her hat-trick. Julieta Jankunas extended Argentina’s lead to 4-2 with a brilliant shot from the right of the circle. Argentina’s increased intensity in the final quarter overwhelmed South Africa, who ultimately had to settle for a two-goal defeat despite a tremendous effort. SA captain on the day Quanita Bobbs reflected on the result: “It was a tough day today. It was really hot. We had a great first half. We set about to get the first outcome and we did exactly that. I think we just ran out of steam in the final quarter unfortunately but overall I am tremendously proud of our team. We know what we need to do in the next games and we will go out and do it!” Source: sahockey.co.za | July 29, 2024

As is the way at a tournament, the games come at you thick and fast. Just over 24 hours after South Africa took on the Netherlands in their Paris 2024 opener, they were back taking on former head coach Paul Revington and his Great Britain charges. Great Britain showed their early attacking intent with a break into the circle, but Gowan Jones made the save to deny any early opportunity. South Africa also denied the first penalty corner for Great Britain with a good post clearance to keep the game scoreless. It was an even match, and South Africa were the next to have an opportunity, winning a penalty corner. That chance was taken by the South Africans. Guise-Browns’ shot was saved, the rebound was saved before it bobbled to the back post, and Andrew Hobson tapped it home to give the Africans the lead, which they held at the end of the first quarter. South Africa created a chance in the second quarter which eventually fell to Keenan Horne, but it was pulled narrowly wide. Great Britain won a penalty corner, but it was brilliantly charged down by Van Tonder and Horne, and South Africa still had the lead. Great Britain were awarded a stroke, but it was correctly overruled. South Africa asked a couple of questions in the concluding minutes of the half, but Sherwood was unable to breach the British backline, and at the half-time break, it was a 1-0 lead for South Africa. Great Britain leveled early in the second half. Gowan Jones saved from the initial penalty corner shot before Phil Roper reacted quickest and fired the ball home. South Africa had a penalty corner chance but were unable to find the goal as a game of very few chances continued to ebb its way forward. Gowan Jones was called on to make a save, but the ball was over the line already, and the third quarter ended with the score still deadlocked at 1-1. Great Britain won a penalty corner in the opening minute of the final quarter when Gowan Jones made a save, but the resultant ball was lifted into a crowd of players. Despite a variation move, South Africa answered the question and remained deadlocked. On the counter, it was the South Africans who took their moment brilliantly. Brad Sherwood received the ball and, with a brilliant touch, created space and fired it into the bottom corner to give South Africa the lead again with 7 minutes remaining. Keenan Horne fired a brilliant reverse stick shot that was heading into the top corner, but it was superbly saved by Ollie Payne. South Africa had to do incredible defensive work as Great Britain surged forward looking for a leveller. Great Britain won a penalty corner with two minutes on the clock, and it was re-awarded, adding to the tension. GB got the equalizer with 90 seconds still to play. Neither side found a winner and ultimately had to settle for a share of the points. SA Goal scorer Brad Sherwood: “I am obviously chuffed to be an Olympic goal scorer, but I’m really disappointed that we weren’t able to get the result. We put in a tremendous effort, and we frustrated them. We are South African; we will be back for the next game, of course!” Source: sahockey.co.za | July 28, 2024