Ghana’s female Black Sticks continued to impress in this year’s tournament with a massive win over host nation Egypt while Kenya edged out Nigeria in the 2nd game of the day. It was a day to forget for host Egypt as they succumbed to a 6-0 heavy loss at the hands of Ghana at the Suez Canal Authority Hockey Stadium. The game started with the West Africans mounting pressure on the host to get a win and close the gap on leaders South Africa. Vivian Narkuor scored in the 10th minute to give Ghana the lead. Elizabeth Opoku increased the tally a minute later for the West Africans. Narkuor scored again in the 18th minute to register her brace and take the game beyond the reach of Egypt. Nafisatu Umaru increased the tally to four(4) in the 22nd minute with a drag flicked penalty corner before scoring another penalty corner in the 44th minute to get her brace and join the likes of South Africa duo Chamberlain Dirkie and Sulette Damons as tournament top scorer with 3 goals. Emelia Fosuaa got her name on the score sheet for the first time to round-up a comprehensive win for Ghana. Kenya and Nigeria both losers on match day 2 , locked horns in the last game of the day. The game touted ‘meeting of losers’, was a highly contested one as a loss will mean goodbye in this tournament to either teams. The game travelled the first 3 quarters without any goal being registered. With a minute of regular time to play, Amutebi scored the first and only goal of the game which saw the Kenya team register their first win of the tournament and increase their chance of playing in the medal zone. The game ended 1-0 in favour of Kenya. Ghana moves 2nd behind South Africa with same points but are only separated with goal difference. Kenya moves above Egypt into 3rd with their win over Nigeria. The women in green sit bottom of the table with a single point.

Match day 3 matches of the men category in the Africa Cup of Nations kicked off at 1pm with Kenya and Nigeria battling for supremacy at the Suez Canal Authority Hockey Stadium. The Nigeria men who had lost 2 matches in a row to the two top ranked teams on the continent namely South Africa and Egypt, were determined to amass the maximum 3 points from the Kenyans who they saw as an equal match. The first two quarters saw no goal as both teams were careful to end this match with at least a point. However, the third quarter saw the Nigerians register the first goal of the game courtesy John Micheal in the 39th minute. Onyango restored parity for the Kenyans 5 minutes later. The game continued till the last quarter when Kenya’s Wakhura scored in the 56th minute to put them in the lead. The game ended 2-1 in favour of Kenya. Ghana and South Africa in the second encounter brought nothing other than tension in the atmosphere. The Ghanaians rat-chased the defending champions in a very fierce encounter. South Africa conceded an early goal in the 1st minute from a classical finish courtesy Michael Baiden. The South Africans were quick to level the scoreline in the 8th minute through Ntuli before Paton’s 9th minute goal put them in front. The second quarter had a balanced performance from both teams and neither of them able to score. Ernest Opoku took advantage of a penalty corner awarded Ghana in the 44th minute to level the score. The game continued into the very early minutes of the 4th quarter when Paton scored his 2nd goal of the day to give the Champions an advantage. The game ended 3-2 in favor of South Africa who had a real tough time with the Black Sticks. Host nation Egypt lead the men’s division with South Africa in 2nd. Both teams share the same points but a majority goal difference puts the host ahead of the Champions. Ghana are placed 3rd with Kenya in 4th. Nigeria lie bottom with no point after three games. By: DENNIS ABABIO JNR. Source: isports360.com

South Africa female team scored five goals again in their 2nd game to hold firm top spot at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. Defending Champions as well as Six-time winners South Africa continued their impeccable form in this year’s Cup of Nations by beating counterparts Nigeria 5-0. Chamberlain Dirkie scored her 3rd goal of the campaign in the 2nd minute to put South Africa in the lead. Skipper Damon’s Sulette increased the tally in the 6th minute before getting her 2nd and South Africa’s 3rd goal in the 30th minute from a penalty corner. The Nigerians held the champions in the 3rd quarter in order not to concede again but that resilience was short-lived. In the 4th and last quarter, Evans Cella added her name to the score sheet in the 49th minute before Sulette in the 60th minute completed her hat trick to round-up a convincing win for the Champions. After watching from the stands on match day one(1) as a result of Zambia’s withdrawal, the Black Sticks of Ghana returned to action against Kenya in the 2nd game of the day. The game was a cagey one from start as both teams wanted a win to secure a place in the final. It was Kenya who got off to a better start when Guchu Caroline scored in the 29th minute. The Ghanaians who knew a defeat will end their quest to make it to the final and win the ultimate, came in strong during the 3rd quarter. Their fine display paid off in the last quarter when Boakye Serwaa converted a penalty corner in the 51st minute to level for the West Africans. Time seemed to be running out with the game approaching a draw when Umaru Nafisatu stepped up to convert a penalty corner in the 54th minute to win all maximum points for Ghana. Ghana’s win over Kenya takes them to 2nd place behind South Africa. Host Egypt are in 3rd above Kenya while Nigeria stay bottom with no point.