The afternoon session of Day 2 was supposed to be an appetizer to whet the whistle before tomorrows finals. In the ladies game the SPAR South Africa ladies produced some of their best hockey in the opening half and then employed a game management to shut it down as they emerged victorious 7-0. It was a pretty poor performance in truth by the Namibians who must avoid defeat tonight to Zimbabwe to qualify for the final. In the mens game it was more of the same although Trevor Cormack rested a few players ahead of tomorrows final. The South Africans were in belligerent mood as they romped to a delightful 9-1 victory including a fine hat-trick for 19 year old Rusten Abrahams. Tonight the Zimbabwe men say goodbye to the tournament, while their women look to cause an upset and sneak into the final ahead of the Namibians.
If Zimbabwe were an unknown factor on Day 1 that was no longer the case this morning as both the SA Men and the SA Women were absolutely dominant in defeating their counterparts without conceding a goal. Zimbabwe have been a massive credit to the tournament and their own development will be instrumental in the game of indoor hockey growing on the continent, they can be proud of their displays. Ryan Julius was the star for the SA Men netting 5 times including some devastating combinations with Olympian Wade Paton. In the ladies game the goals were shared evenly in a game that meant Cindy Hack, the SA ladies captain, became the first to reach 50 Indoor Hockey caps for SA Hockey! With that result in the Mens tournament the final will now be contested by SA and Namibia, however the Zimbabwe ladies may still have a chance if they beat Namibia tonight.
If South Africa vs. Zimbabwe had been the starter then this was most definitely the main course as fierce rivals Namibia and South Africa did battle. The match was like most test matches between the two have become lately, incredibly roasty! The Namibians looked keen to soak in the pressure before launching counter attacks and had numerous opportunities but were let down by poor decision making and poor discipline! After the score was level at 1-1 just before half time both keepers upped their games and produced fine displays to keep the scoring down, but South Africa underline their supremacy with some outstanding team goals, the highlight of which was Amy Greaves little dink over Stoffberg. Final score: South Africa 4 – Namibia 1 GOALS: SA: Greaves, O’Connor, Botes & McEwan NAM: Venter
