South Africa: NKOSI Cup 2024 | One of these two will win the crown

South Africa and Namibia will once again meet in the Men’s and Women’s finals of the Nkosi Cup after triumphing through their semi-finals and group stages respectively.

MENS SEMI-FINAL – South Africa 5-0 Ireland

It was a much less open game than their meeting 24 hours previously and the score line maybe looked more comfortable than it really was for the South Africans as the Irish were nuggety and determined in defense, but ultimately the gap in quality was clear between the two.

Jethro Eustice earned a brace for himself as the former captain punished at penalty corner time, while current captain Dayaan Cassiem also got in the action with his strike. South Africa saw three goals disallowed as they were consistently frustrated by small errors and incredible work by Stephen O’Keeffe.

Mustapha Cassiem would contribute to the score with two of his own to take his personal tally to 98 international indoor goals. Ireland would score through Mackay to earn a consolation but South Africa would storm back and score a sublime team goal spurred on by a moment of magic from Dayaan Cassiem led to Neethling scoring the game’s final goal.

MENS SEMI-FINAL – New Zealand 3-6 Namibia

A brilliant battle between two good teams is an apt summary of the second semi-final at the Nkosi Cup. At the end of the day, it was the Africans who came out on top and secured a second consecutive final in the Nkosi Cup.

It started brilliantly for the Africans going 2-0 up in the first quarter through JP Britz and Dakota Hansen, although they felt like they had wasted a few chances. They were made to pay for those missed chances when the Black Sticks halved the deficit through Daniel Scanlon. JP Britz made it 3-1 before Benedict van Woerkom continued his own good tournament halving the lead again.

A goalless third quarter meant that we were in for a big finish once again. Namibia struck through the brilliant Brynn Cleak but Isaac Houlbrooke made it 3-4 with 3 minutes left. Fagan Hansen and JP Britz would score late goals to make it 6-3 and secure a place in the final for the African Champions.

Women’s – Namibia 3-3 Ireland

Ireland had unfortunately already been eliminated from the tournament, but they were still looking for a win to end on a high. They gave themselves the perfect chance with a sublime first half. Despite trailing 1-0 to a Kiana Cormack goal, the Irish roared into a commanding 3-1 lead thanks to Caroline Spence, Ellen Robinson, and Chloe Brown.

They were able to hold the lead until the third quarter and were hopeful of getting their first Nkosi Cup win. But the Namibian showed why they are World Cup bound as they fought back and salvaged a draw through Tara Myburgh and late on from Azaylee Philander to maintain the Namibians undefeated status in the tournament.

Women’s – Namibia 2-3 South Africa

It was a dress rehearsal for the final as both teams had already qualified and it was South Africa who got the perfect start on captain Jamie Southgate’s 99^th appearance, with a penalty stroke goal for Tegan Fourie. Despite the best efforts of both teams, they were struggling to match attacking efficiency to the resolution of the opposite defense.

Just before half time it was Jivanka Kruger who finished with a reactive strike when all around her seemed to wait on the rebound. She almost supplied a goal for Jerrica Bartlett but the experienced campaigner was closed just too quickly and almost immediately it was the South Africans who led. Edith Molikoe was given the ball at a tight angle and you can imagine that Petro Stoffberg will be frustrated by the attempted save as it trickled through her.

Early in the second half Namibia leveled through constant goal threat Azaylee Philander, but Tegan converted a second stroke to make it 3-2 to the hosts again with just one quarter remaining.

It was tough to pick who would fine the next goal if there was to be one as both teams showed why they are World Cup bound through defensive brilliance. And at the end of the day the teams shook hands on a 3-2 win for South Africa as they head to the final to decide the champion on Tuesday.