The South African Men’s team was facing an uphill battle as they had suffered two narrow defeats, making it unlikely for them to qualify for the crossovers. However, they were determined to test their mettle against the world’s top-ranked side and prepare for the playoffs with the goal of finishing in the top 12 still very much within reach. As the match began, the South Africans were met with frustration as their keeper, Gowan Jones, made a fantastic save, but the rebound was picked up by the Australian player, Blake Govers. Despite this setback, the South Africans were determined to make the most of their opportunity. However, it was clear that it was going to be a tough afternoon for them as the Australians continued to press forward, hunting for a second goal. The South Africans levelled through Bili Ntuli. An aerial ball from Dayaan Cassiem found Ntuli in space and he fired home with a cover drive type of finish that would not be amiss in the current SA20 tournament. Disappointingly for the South Africans it was a parity that did not stay like that for long as Australia restored the lead through a Tom Craig goal. Australia then became the Blake Govers Association as the Australian hitman hit three more to make it 5-1 to the world’s leading team. The South Africans had the opportunity to pull one back as they were awarded a penalty stroke after an illegal intervention from the Australians. Nic Spooners shot was saved by Andrew Charter and immediately the South Africans were punished as Jake Harvey ran through unmarked and made it 6-1 with the half time whistle still a few minutes away. And there was time for a seventh after a penalty corner was well charged down Australia reacted first and Nathan Ephraums obliged. Coach Cheslyn Gie asked for the team to be tougher and fight more in the second half and will be disappointed that they conceded one minute in from a Jeremy Haywood penalty corner. South Africa, who had lost their referral in the first half, were let off from a terrible penalty corner decision when Govers fired over the top of the goal. Australia was then awarded a penalty corner for a foot when the ball come off Guy Morgan’s stick, but fortunately Estiaan Kriek made a good save and the deficit remained seven. Tevin Kok almost produce one of his characteristic world class goals as the South Africans finally gave a better account of themselves in the third quarter. It finished with the score 8-1. South Africa won an early penalty corner in the final quarter. Beauchamp got tremendous power from the shot but missed the target frustratingly. Kriek made another good save on his World Cup debut, but Australia would add another through Tim Brand to make it 9-1 to the Australians. South Africa would give the game its final glittering end with a rocket from Tevin Kok as he picked up an overhead from Dayaan Cassiem and smashed it into the roof of the net. For the South Africans it was a stark reminder of the gap to the top teams and the work ahead to bridge it. All eyes will now turn to the playoffs as the SA Men look to finish as high as possible. Source: SAHockey.co.za

19 January, 2023 Day 6 of FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 brought the conclusion of the group stage action from Pool C and Pool D, as Netherlands and England topped their groups, booking their quarterfinals spots, while Malaysia, New Zealand, India and Spain now move on to the crossovers. Malaysia and New Zealand played the first game with Malaysia needing a win to overtake New Zealand for the second spot in the group, while New Zealand just needed a draw to stay ahead of Malaysia on goal difference. What unfolded was an enthralling contest with Malaysia grabbing the first two goals of the game, but the Kiwis responded with two quickfire goals in the 4th quarter to level the scores. Malaysia had the last laugh however, scoring with 2 minutes left on the clock to seal the win and grab the second spot in Pool C, with New Zealand finishing 3rd. Netherlands were up next against Chile who had been resilient in their first two games of the tournament. Netherlands came into the game in a menacing mood and scored 14 past the Chilean defence to set a new record for the biggest margin of victory in an FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup. Action then moved over to Pool D as Spain and England went up in game 1 with all 4 spots in the group undecided. Spain started the game brightly, but failed to find their scoring touch, while England made the best of their opportunities, scoring twice before the half. The second half followed a similar pattern, as Spain’s scoring touch completely deserted them, while the English defence withstood all the pressure and launched counter-attacks that helped add 2 more goals in the second half for an emphatic 4-0 win. The final match of the day was between hosts India, playing their first match in Bhubaneswar against the plucky Welsh team that had nothing to lose. India made a great start to the game holding more than 80% possession in the first half, but their finishing wasn’t the best as they were up by two goals until the 43rd minute when Wales found a way back, scoring twice in two minutes to end quarter three on level terms. Akashdeep who had scored India’s second, put them ahead again at the start of the 4th quarter and Harmanpreet added his first goal in the final minute to carry India to a win and 2nd position in Pool D. Match 1: Malaysia vs New Zealand 3-2 New Zealand started the game stronger and nearly got themselves an early goal with a 3 on 1 attack in the Malaysian circle, but Kingstone’s shot was rather tame in the end. Kane Russell and Razie Rahim were off target from the first penalty corners for both sides as the game started to open up. Malaysia were the first to score as Faizal Saari got a slight touch on a ball into the circle that took it past an onrushing Dixon giving Malaysia a crucial lead. Malaysia had fewer circle penetrations by half time, but they had the better chances to score the second goal of the game through Shello Silverius and Marhan Jalil, with both missing great chances, to keep the score at 1-0 at the break. Second half followed the same pattern as New Zealand kept possession and territory but were well kept out by the Malaysian deep defence, while everytime Malaysia went into attack, they created great scoring opportunities. They added the second goal from their 6th penalty corner as Razie Rahim buried a low drag flick into the bottom left corner of the goal. The final quarter provided pulsating hockey as New Zealand scored twice early in the quarter through Phillips and Lane to temporarily move into the 2nd place on the Pool table, but Malaysia grabbed the lead back with less than 3 minutes left, as Faizal Saari scored his second of the game to get Malaysia the 3 points and 2nd place in Pool C. Marhan Jalil was awarded player of the match for his great performance in the Malaysian defence. Double goalscorer Faizal Saari said after the match: “It was a good team performance as we stuck to our strategies. We will enjoy this moment and this win first and then we will think about the cross-overs.” Match 2: Netherlands vs Chile 14-0  Netherlands came into the final pool game with 2 near perfect wins, while Chile came in with 2 closely fought contests where they ended up on the losing side. On paper it was an uphill task for Chile to take much from the game and the first half proved that as the Dutch played incredible attacking hockey to score five times in the first half, with Vilder, Thijs and Brinkman scoring once, while Jansen added two from penalty corners. The second half saw Netherlands turn up the pressure to 100 as they scored 6 goals in the 3rd quarter and 3 more in the final quarter. In the process Netherlands broke the record for the biggest win in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup history, previously held by Australia, when they scored 12 unanswered goals against South Africa in the 2010 Men’s World Cup. For the Dutch, Jip Janssen top scored with 4 penalty corner goals, with captain Thierry Brinkman also grabbing a hattrick in the 59th minute. In total, 8 Dutch players got themselves on the scoresheet as they moved into the quarterfinals in red hot form! Jip Janssen was awarded player of the match and said: “I didn’t know we had broken the world record, so that is good to know. It was a great team performance overall and in terms of penalty corners it’s good to get the rhythm going and not just for me but for the injectors and stoppers as well.” Match 3: Spain vs England 0-4 Spain and England came into the encounter with 3 and 4 points respectively with all positions from 1-4 undecided

Continue Reading →