Local hockey players feature in Indoor Hockey World Cup in Pretoria
The South African women opened up their Indoor Hockey World Cup campaign going down by one goal against Austria.
The Indoor Hockey World Cup taking place in South Africa got off to a flying start, with both sides getting the action started in their first matches at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria.
The women had gone down in their opening match against Austria 3 – 2, with South African women’s captain Jessica O’Connor scoring the first goal of the tournament from a penalty corner on South African soil. Kayla de Waal for South Africa and Marta Laginja of Austria added their names to the scorecard for the first match outside Europe.
Over in the men’s game, they had seen their female counterparts go down in the opener and were determined to give themselves a winning start against Australia. The local team’s opponents had taken fourth place in the 2018 edition of the indoor world cup.
Lungani Gabela got his side off to the perfect start as his shot was rebounded to Chad Futcher who went to score but was taken down and then awarded a penalty stroke. Young Mustapha Cassiem stepped up to take the lead for South Africa.
Cassiem was able to add another goal to his collection after reacting to a goal-bound effort that snuck off to him, taking the score to 2–0.
Australia’s tenacious fighting spirit saw them fight their way back into the game. Ben Staines pulled a goal back for his team just before halftime, and then another goal from a penalty corner scored by Jake Sherran in the third chukka to level the scoreboard.
Frustration grew for South Africa as their opponents turned the score around with Staines scoring on a counterattack right on the hooter of the third chukka to put the visitors in the lead. The home side had a few half chances but were looking to raise the tempo and precision in the final chukka.
The home side continuously asked questions to get another goal, and eventually, the answer came in the form of captain Jethro Eustice firing a penalty corner goal for his fourth historical Indoor Hockey World Cup goal.
The end of the match came with the spoils shared for both sides. On February 8, the SA women are set to take Australia and the men to tackle Iran.
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