HOCKEY NEWS - The SA men’s hockey team have finished ninth at the Hockey World League after defeating Japan 4-2 in their final playoff match in Johannesburg on Friday.
It will be some consolation for the home side to have won at least one match in what has been a largely disappointing tournament for them.
Austin Smith scored twice off penalty corners and Jonty Robinson once from a penalty stroke.
But it was youngster Dayaan Cassiem’s final goal in the 56th minute – a swivelling rebound shot from a penalty corner – along with his performance in general that had SA hockey fans excited.
“Dayaan was fantastic today,” SA coach Fabian Gregory said afterwards. “I took huge flak for choosing him because he was just 18 years old and had not played in an IPT yet, but you could see today that it was a no-brainer. He’s the most exciting striker in the country, a real goal-scorer and he’s always just so focused on the rebounds,” he added, suggesting that Friday’s performance was a good sign of things to come.
“Playing the youngsters with their exuberance and their willingness to go out and play is exciting and they showed the way forward today. It was good for the team to show they can play attacking hockey. Guys like Dayaan, Tevin Kok, Nqobile Ntuli and Ryan Julius are good for the future of South African hockey.
“We want to try and score goals, we want to play with more speed, play with no fear. The ability to close out a game is also important and knowing when to put the knife in.”
The South Africans will certainly need those skills when they head into the Africa Cup, which is now a tournament they have to win if they are to qualify for next year’s World Cup.
Meanwhile, Belgium will face Germany in the men’s final of the Hockey World League on Sunday.
There was a nerve-wracking finish to Germany’s semifinal against Spain as the match went to a shootout.
Having scored in the 15th minute, Spain were leading for much of the match, but five minutes before the final hooter, Germany’s Ferdinand Weinke slotted in the equaliser.
Spanish hearts were broken when the Germans then edged the shootout 4-3.
Olympic silver medallists Belgium defeated Australia 2-1 in the other semifinal to book their spot in the final.
