South Africa faced off against hosts Poland on Tuesday night, knowing that they needed a victory to keep any chance of a title defence alive at the FIH Hockey Nations Cup. Before the game started, there was a presentation to Nqobile “Bili” Ntuli, who was earning his 100th cap for the African Champions, having debuted in the Summer Series in 2016.
South Africa earned the first set piece opportunity of the game with a penalty corner in the 8th minute. Despite two early breaks from the Polish defence giving South Africa a perfect opportunity, the chance was not converted, even with Ryan Julius in plenty of space for the rebound.
South Africa took the lead through a typical Ntuli finish, marking his 44th international goal and giving the visitors a much-needed confidence boost. Showing superb defensive ability, South Africa limited Poland’s chances, with only a penalty corner awarded in the 30th minute.
The half-time score remained 1-0 in favour of South Africa.
In the third quarter, South Africa earned another penalty corner, but their set piece execution was lacking. Relying on brilliant defensive efforts led by Matt Guise-Brown and Andrew Hobson, the team maintained their lead.
However, South Africa’s failure to secure a second goal proved costly as Poland equalized early in the final quarter, reacting quickly to a save from Estiaan Kriek and firing the ball into the roof of the net.
The tension rose in front of a vibrant home crowd, but they were silenced when Brad Sherwood capitalized on a loose ball, firing it home to re-establish South Africa’s lead with five minutes remaining.
Mustapha Cassiem won a penalty corner for South Africa, but the chance was wasted. In a dramatic finale, Poland was awarded a penalty corner with 10 seconds remaining. Ryan Julius’s perfect charge down secured the win for South Africa, keeping their hopes in the tournament alive.
South Africa faces Korea on Thursday, knowing that a victory will give them a great chance to progress to the Semi-Finals. The game is scheduled for 15:30 and will be live on Supersport or Watch.Hockey.
by South Africa
