The SPAR South African Indoor Hockey side had captivated their fans throughout the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in a march to the semi-finals. They had a packed crowd at the Hearfelt Arena in their corner as they sought to sink the unsinkable ship in the Netherlands. The South African women had returned to the World Cup having missed the 2018 edition and have shown the journey they have been on has been an incredible journey full of heart, courage and inspiration. The juggernaut that is the Dutch though was near impossible to stop and they rocked their way to an early lead. Pam Imhof and a stroke from Lieke van Wijk earned the team a credible 2-0 lead. Showing characteristic South African fight the hosts pulled a goal back through a superbly taken penalty corner from Danny de Oliviera. They were being spurred on by an incredible performance in goals by Cheree Greyvenstein The Dutch though continued to show their class and extended their lead to three goals with Donja Zwinkels scoring before another stroke stretched the lead. South Africa pulled their keeper and continued to fight for a result but conceded two late goals to inflate the result. The team would not have long to lick their wounds as the bronze medal match takes place at 18:30 against a wounded Czech Republic.   Source: SAHockey.co.za | February 11, 2023

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