SA men and women lose again at Hockey World Cup

South Africa’s men and women lost again in their second games at their respective FIH Hockey World Cups on Tuesday.

A landmark evening for Dayaan Cassiem ended in disappointment for South Africa as Ireland produced a devastating final-quarter surge to claim a 4-1 victory in their second Pool C encounter at the Men’s World Cup.

The match in Wavre, Belgium carried special significance for the South African captain, who stepped onto the international stage for the 100th time, reaching a milestone almost a decade after making his senior international debut as an 18-year-old.

After both sides suffered 3-1 defeats in their opening matches, the encounter carried importance and the opening half reflected that tension. Neither team was able to find the breakthrough through the opening 30 minutes as the two sides largely cancelled each other out.

It was South Africa who finally broke the deadlock seven minutes after the restart.

Kenton Melville found the opening in the 37th minute, finishing a contender for goal of the tournament when his acrobat deflection handed the South Africans a deserved 1-0 advantage and provide a platform from which to push for a vital first victory of the tournament.

The lead, however, lasted just five minutes.

Ireland responded through Benjamin Walker to restore parity before taking control of the contest in the final quarter.

Experienced defender Lee Cole proved decisive from the penalty corner battery, converting in the 48th minute to give Ireland the lead before striking again from another penalty corner seven minutes later. It was a huge moment in the game as South Africa had just been awarded a penalty stroke only for the call to be reversed on referral.

With South Africa forced to chase the game, spaces inevitably opened and Ireland took advantage once more in the closing stages. Sam Hyland added a fourth from open play to complete a scoreline that was considerably more comfortable than the contest had appeared for much of the afternoon.

The defeat means South Africa’s men’s team are now unable to progress into the second round of the championship phase, with Australia already on six points and Ireland and Spain both on three. South Africa will instead move into the 9th-16th classification phase after the completion of Pool C.

There is, however, still one Pool C challenge remaining. South Africa conclude the opening phase against Australia on Thursday, providing another opportunity to test themselves against one of world hockey’s leading nations and build momentum ahead of the classification matches.

The South African women’s second outing their World Cup ended in defeat as a clinical India claimed a 6-1 victory at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen.

The African champions headed into the encounter looking for a response after their opening defeat against England, but found an Indian side in ruthless attacking form, with six different players finding the back of the net.

India made the brighter start and were rewarded in the 11th minute. A scrappy move down the left eventually saw Sakshi Rana’s effort make its way across the circle, where Sunelita Toppo reacted quickest to steer the ball home at the far post and open the scoring.

The advantage was doubled early in the second quarter through Navneet Kaur. From a penalty corner variation, the experienced attacker fired a powerful low effort through the South African defensive line to make it 2-0 in the 18th minute.

India’s penalty corner pressure continued and, after South Africa had initially survived a succession of set pieces, Sushila Chanu reacted quickest when Deepika’s drag flick was blocked by the first runner. Her follow-up found its way into the goal in the 25th minute, giving India a commanding 3-0 advantage at the half-time break.

South Africa emerged from the interval with greater attacking intent and looked to establish themselves higher up the field, but India struck again in the 38th. Deepika produced an outstanding reverse-stick finish after good work down the left to stretch the lead to four.

The decisive period arrived late in the third quarter. Lalremsiami made it 5-0 with a powerful reverse-stick strike before Sakshi Rana reacted fastest to a rebound off the post to add a sixth as India turned their advantage into an imposing one heading into the final quarter.

Despite the difficult scoreline, South Africa continued searching for a breakthrough and were rewarded in the 55th minute. From a penalty corner, Hannah Pearce’s drag flick took a deflection off the Indian first runner and fell invitingly for Kayla de Waal, who showed excellent awareness to touch the ball home from close range.

India saw out the remaining minutes to secure the 6-1 victory, a result that takes them to four points in Pool D alongside China. Earlier in the day China defeated England 4-2, meaning South Africa can no longer finish inside the top two positions in the pool.

Hockey SA media