MICHAEL FINCH, Johannesburg | Saturday 12.15am.
IF the South African women’s hockey team had played to their full potential against Wales in the first of four hockey Tests at the Randburg Astro on Friday night, the visitors may gone home with more than a 4-0 walloping.
As captain Karen Roberts admitted afterwards, the South Africans, in the spirit of a friendly match, decided not to launch too many Pietie Norval thunderbolts at their bodies.
In fact, to the casual eye, South Africa’s nine unconverted short corner opportunities looked like plain, poor finishing.
Not so, said Roberts.
“We didn’t hit any high shots or flicks at them and to be fair, we didn’t try many variations with our short corners,” the blonde, leggy captain explained.
“They were playing a bit of a suicide match and I think we were quite nice.”
They 0-0 scoreline at half-time hardly reflected the pattern of play.
You could count on one hand the amount of times, the Welsh made it into South African territory, as the hosts, now ranked among the elite top six in the world, launched attack upon attack.
On one of the rare Welsh attacks they did almost when captain Lynda Watkin hit the woodwork in the 34th minute, 17 minutes after Coetzee had come as close for South Africa.
South Africa eventually got on the board, six minutes into the new half when the burly Coetzee struck a clean short corner into the net.
It seemed to take the fight out of the defensive visitors and six minutes later, Coetzee was again in action from a short corner. Welsh ‘keeper Michelle Thomas got a stick to the shot, but the power from Coetzee’s stick helped the ball squeeze through.
Player of the match, Roberts — as always the team’s most active playmaker — deservedly found the net in the 67th minute when a short corner developed into a goalmouth scramble and Roberts poked through an opportunist shot.
A minute later, Kerry Bee latched on to another Robert’s cross from the right to put the result beyond doubt.
For South Africa, the results are unlikely to change and they will use the series as a build-up for September’s All Africa Games in Johannesburg.
The second Test takes place on Saturday at 2pm. — MWP