South Africa cruise past India 2-0 in ESB Electric Ireland FIH Champions Challenge I
Pietie Coetzee and Lesle-Ann George scored one each, as South African women’s hockey team cruised past India by two goals, 2-0 in the play-off match of the ESB Electric Ireland FIH Champions Challenge I that took place at the University College Dublin (UCD)
in Ireland on June 24, 2011.
It is worth mentioning here both the squads failed to qualify for the semi-final round of the Champions Challenge. India was defeated by Japan, while Spain outclassed South African women in the quarter-final stage.
Both the teams landed on the field to decide the fate of the 5th to 8th places of the tournament. However, the South African women will fight against Ireland for 5th-6th places, while India and Azerbaijan will
meet each other for 7th-8th places.
The first play-off game commenced with both teams looking quite excited in search of better finish. However, the South African women with back-and-forth attacks established their dominance in the early on. The South African side made numerous penetrations
in the early minutes, but these were blocked from the other side.
The South African attackers accomplished more attacks as compared to the Indian side, but succeeded only in rare efforts. In the 23rd minute of the game, the South African team earned a short-corner and tested Pietie Coetzee. She was quite perfect
in her execution, sent the hit comfortably into the goal, and put opponent Indian team under intense pressure. It was her 224th goal in the 226th international fixture. It is vital to mention here that she exceeded the two decades’ world
record of the highest goals.
After conceding the maiden goal, the Indian strikers though made efforts to make a comeback into the game, but failed to do so. Before going into the second round, Coetzee attempted a penalty stroke, but it was saved in the hands of Yogita Bali, the Indian
goalie.
The first 35 minutes of play ended with South African women leading the game by a solitary goal, 1-0.
Following a short break, both the squads re-entered into the field in same spirit, as India wanted to equal the game while the African women wanted to withhold the lead. The African women continued their to and fro attacks and dominated the field with the
ball possession in the second 35 minutes.
With three minutes left onto the clock, Lesle-Ann George managed to get the ball inside the defensive circle of India and hit a powerful shot at the corner of the goal. The African women earned some 18 chances, while it only gave three chances to their counterpart,
India, throughout the two periods. As the time completed, the South African team won game by 2-0.
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