Spain's golden luck as SA lose

South Africa’s women hockey team were beaten 3-2 by Spain despite having 80% of the ball possession during their match in Dublin on Thursday.

   They conceded a golden goal in the last minute of extra-time that will now see them contesting for the fifth to eighth place ties that will begin on Friday.

SA had opened the scoring through Sulette  Damons before the wily and streetwise Raquel Huertas deflected in the equaliser from Spain’s first penalty corner for the teams to turn around 1-1.

    Spain’s second penalty corner was netted by Barbara Malda before the talismanic Pietie Coetzee equalised with a PC two minutes from full-time.

    And it was Huertas, the right-side forward with an enviable ability to impress umpires with her theatrics, who manufactured Spain’s golden goal-winning PC that was ultimately scored by Pilar Sanchez.

   The experimental tournament format has bitten the South Africans  badly.

    As winners of Pool A, captain Marsha Marescia’s side would traditionally have gone straight into the semi-finals.

    Yet in a controversial and unpopular bid by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to keep the tournament outcome alive for as  long as possible, the teams finishing outside the top two in pool play were given a second bite at the cherry.

    And winless Spain, last in Pool B, scrapped tooth and nail to make it count.

   Off the plethora of South African shots at goalkeeper Maria Lopez from approximately 35 circle entries, at least four were gilt-edged and yet try as they might, the tournament’s leading goalscorers after the preliminary round couldn’t find the target enough times to make the difference.

   Over the 85 minutes of play, Spain had just three entries into the  strike zone.  Three penalty corners were awarded, two from outside the circle for what were deemed deliberate infringements by umpires Wendy Stewart of Canada and France’s Claire Adenot — and Spain converted  all three.

   Granted, the cock-a-hoop Spaniard’s PCs were well constructed, with variations catching SA out, while the girls in red also got numbers behind the ball in defence and frustrated the rampant, but goal-shy South African forwards.  

  The girls in green and gold also tended to get isolated in defence on the rare times Spain mounted an attack, but credit must go to head coach Salvador Indurain for preparing a crafty game plan.

   Coetzee and her team-mates up front constantly found the tenacious Spanish defenders biting at their heels, while crucial umpiring decisions might have gone the girls in green and gold’s way on another day.

    Quite simply, it was not South Africa’s day.