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
