A sell out crowd at the Wynberg Military Base welcomed the opening of the second edition of the Nkosi Cup and they were not disappointed as the favourites took home victories in all three games.
Men – Ireland 2-7 Namibia
A remarkable first ever meeting between the two countries was not short on goals and cards in an enthralling battle. Cody van der Merwe got the tournaments opening goal netting a rebound before a deflection saw Namibia lead 2-0 after the first quarter. Incredibly a goalless second quarter saw the half time break with an unchanged scoreline.
It was 3-0 early when Fagan Hansen scored but then Namibia were rocked with a triple yellow card leaving two outfield players on the park. Ernie Jacobs produced a piece of social media brilliance with a goal that will be replayed over and over again in the future. Ross Canning and James Walker pulled two back for Ireland as they threatened to turn the game on its head.
But late on in the final quarter a quick triple from the African Champions through JP Britz, Fagan Hansen and Brynn Cleak added gloss to a scoreline and 3 points to the tally for the Namibians.
Women – South Africa 6-2 Ireland
The SPAR South African Indoor Hockey Womens Team got the game off to the perfect start when Tegan Fourie reacted first to make it 72 in 72 for the hosts. But Ireland settled quickly and when they won a penalty corner Caroline Spence rocketed the ball home with perfection to level matters.
South Africa re-established the lead when Olympian Kayla de Waal netted superbly. Half time was 2-1 in favour of the hosts.
Malikah Hamza, who recently lost her mother, then struck the first hat-trick of the tournament on her way to a player of the match vote to take the game away from Ireland. Laylaa Davids also netted while Chloe Brown got a late consolation goal, but the South Africans were well and truly deserving winners.
Men – South Africa vs. New Zealand
South Africa broke the deadlock when 17 year old debutant produced a mature finish to make it 1-0 just 20 seconds after making his first appearance. 20 years would separate their next goalscorer as the teams oldest and most experienced player Justin Domleo doubled the lead.
Dayaan Cassiem and Hans Neethling made it 4-0 in the second quarter before New Zealand pulled one back through Olympian Isaac Houlbrooke to make it 4-1 at the half time break.
Having endured a quiet first half Mustapha Cassiem showed up early in the second to score in a 37th consecutive international game, while his brother and captain made it 6-1 with one quarter remaining.
New Zealand would earn a consolation from a penalty stroke scored by Benedict van Woerkom before an SA avalanche saw four more goals take the score to a walloping 10-2, also the score South Africa won the final by in 2023
Nkosi Cup 2024 – Fixtures – 14 December
12:45 – Women – Namibia vs. South Africa
17:15 – Men – New Zealand vs. Ireland
18:30 – Women – Ireland vs. Namibia
19:45 – Men – Namibia vs. South Africa
All matches will be live on Supersport.
by South Africa
