The Hockeyroos clinched the Spar Challenge series with a 2-1 victory over South Africa in the third Test at the Tshwane University of Technology on Saturday.
Although both teams were presented with red roses in honour of Valentine’s Day at the start of the match, love was not high on the agenda in a hotly contested match.
South Africa, trailing two-nil in the series, made their intentions clear from the start and Candice Forword came close to scoring in the first few minutes, but it was Australia that drew first blood, with a goal by Megan Rivers in the 20th minute.
Kate Hector replied in the 32nd minute, off a short corner, to the delight of the small but enthusiastic crowd. The Hockeyroos took the lead again 10 minutes into the second half, when Emily Halliday found the back of the net, also off a short corner.
Both teams fought hard throughout the match, and tempers flared from time to time. Hockeyroo Louise Dobson and South Africa’s premier goal scorer, Pietie Coetzee, both spent time in the sin bin. South Africa’s Lindsey Carlisle and Fiona Butler both had outstanding games, and Carlisle in particular turned the ball around on a number of occasions when Australia was threatening.
South African coach Ros Howell said she was not disappointed with the result, but was disappointed that the team had thrown away too much ball possession.
”We never looked like finishing in their circle,” she said. ”We have to learn from the Australians, and learn to play through bad decisions and not to let things get to us. We owe it to our supporters and our sponsors to play better than we did today.”
”Make no mistake, we are finding out a number of areas where we need to improve, and we will do that before the Olympics,” she added. ”We are determined that we will compete with the best in Athens, and we know what we have to do to improve. But today’s match is history, and we will go on from here.”
Captain Susan Webber said she expected a much gutsier performance from her team in the final game, at the Randburg Astro on Sunday afternoon.
The Australian coach, Dave Bell, said the match had not been of the same quality as the first two.
”A bit of tiredness creeping in, and that affects both teams,” he said. ”We expect South Africa to go all out in the final game, and we will have to up our performance for that.” — Sapa