South Africa u21 Women win gold at Junior Africa Cup
The South Africa Women’s u21 hockey team cemented their standing as the continent’s powerhouse when they cruised to a 5-0 win over Namibia in the final of the Junior Africa Cup in Windhoek on Friday evening.
The gold medal winners were one of three teams – the others were Namibia and Zimbabwe – that qualified for the 11th Junior World Cup Tournament, to be held in Santiago, Chile, later in the year.
From their first match to their last, South Africa was on top form, conceding only once on their way to the title.
They made their presence known with a 5-0 win over Uganda in their opener. That was followed with a 19-0 hammering of Zambia and, then, they beat Kenya 4-0.
They maintained their form with a 5-0 walloping of Zimbabwe before shrugging aside Namibia 6-1 in their last group match.
In the final, the Namibians started well, maintaining control of possession for most of the first five minutes of the contest, but they were unable to progress beyond South Africa’s 23-metre line. Instead, it was the host’s southern neighbours who created the first handful of chances on goal.
Ntsopa Mokoena, who was named the Player of the Match, was a livewire throughout the tournament, yet she saved her best for the final. The former St Stithians College learner made enterprising runs into the Namibian circle and was denied early goals twice, thanks to some excellent shot-stopping from Jasmine Cartwright, the Namibian goalkeeper.
Soon, though, South Africa settled into a rhythm and wrestled control from the hosts, dominating possession. At halftime, the stats showed that South had the ball 70 percent of the time. They had made 13 circle penetrations, won 11 penalty corners, and had nine shots on goal.
Cartwright, in the Namibian goal, was kept busy, but she ensured that the home side did not concede double-digit scores. However, she could do only so much.
Mokoena opened the floodgates with a goal six minutes into the second chukka. She made a brilliant run down the left flank before firing the ball past a despairing Cartwright to put South Africa 1-0 ahead at halftime.
In the third chukka, the visitors spurned fewer chances and tacked on another three goals to their halftime lead.
The first of the three, two minutes after the restart, originated from an interception of an aerial pass made by Reabitswe Phume close to the halfway line. She threaded the ball through to Amber Fairon, who found Mokoena, and she laid it off to Teshawn De la Rey, who made no mistake from close range.
Before Namibia was able to regroup, South Africa struck again. The goal came two minutes after their second from a penalty corner, with Caylin Maree delivering the scoring blow.
Maree, the South African captain, was prolific in front of goal throughout the event. Her goal in the final took her tally to nine, the most by any player in the tournament.
Phume was again involved in the fourth goal. The St Stithians’ alumni picked up the ball on the halfway line and raised her head, scanning the field. She spotted Jodie Blows making a run, up front, and picked her out with an accurate pass. After receiving the ball, Blows brilliantly eliminated the two defenders shepherding her with some sharp stick skills before beating the Namibian ‘keeper to make it 4-0 with just over two minutes left in the chukka.
With five minutes to play, Namibia, at last, won their first short corner. It was their third circle penetration of the match but, like the previous two, nothing came from it.
South Africa retaliated immediately. Mokoena got onto the end of a long pass to the edge of the D, carried the ball into the circle, and tucked it behind the keeper with ease to complete the scoring.
That was the last of a long list of South African goals. They scored 44 during the Junior Africa Cup and conceded only one.
RESULT
South Africa 5-0 Namibia
