SA Battle to Clean Sheets Result

The SPAR South African senior national hockey team produced
an uninspired display as they were held to a goalless draw by Ireland
in the fourth women’s hockey Test, at Hartleyvale on Saturday.

The visiting Irish produced their best hockey on their
four-match tour of South
Africa to date, with a commendable second-half
display, while SA held the upper hand for most of the first half, thanks mainly
to their midfield, which held a vice-like grip on the game.

In the absence of tight marking by the Irish, the SA
midfield strung together some cheeky passes on several sorties into the
opposition. But the Irish defence was well organised and blanked out one attack
after the other.

There were, however, two excellent scoring chances from
field goal opportunities, but upfront SA’s markswomen looked out of sorts.

However, there was one stand-out move by SA after 26
minutes, but Jennifer Wilson’s cross-field hit through a maze of Irish
defenders was missed by the unmarked Marcia Marescia, plumb in front of goals.

More pressure from the hosts in the closing stages of the
first half made for a few close calls for the Irish defence, but at the
halftime break SA had nothing to show for their efforts.

SA had to do without the services of the solid defender
Lisa Deetlefs, who was out with concussion after being struck in the face
during the third Test at Stellenbosch on Friday evening. Fortunately, Deetlefs
did not suffer a fracture, and will be in the SA squad to play in Argentina
next week.

Play was far evenly matched in the second half, when Ireland’s
midfield presented a far more solid platform for launching raids in the SA
half.

However, many of the Irish raids broke down because they
failed to set up a link between midfield and attack. On the two occasions that Ireland
broke through the middle, SA goalkeeper Mariette Rix single-handedly staved off
disaster for the hosts with excellent footwork.

In the face of Ireland’s vastly improved second half, SA
still enjoyed penetration but they lacked the spark to set the match alight in
the closing of the match, which was played in howling windy conditions.

The goalless stalemate was the best result yet for the
visiting Irish in four matches, after they suffered three defeats in as many
clashes going into Saturday’s encounter.