Africa-Press – Namibia. SAINTS responded like champions to their first defeat of the season when they thrashed Wanderers 16-1 last Wednesday in the Bank Windhoek Indoor Hockey Men’s Premier League last Wednesday.
That triumph followed a 5-1 defeat to Windhoek Old Boys the previous week, and coach Christo du Raan said it was a good confidence booster.
“I think the guys were a bit more composed than in the previous game, and it was good for us to come back strong, and get the confidence back up after our loss to Old Boys. The guys did what they needed to do, they kept their structures and overall it was a great game. They just expressed themselves and I think we’re good to go now for the rest of the tournament,” he said.
Du Raan admitted that the Old Boys defeat was a bitter pill to swallow.
“Obviously it shook us hard in the gut, to be honest; it’s never nice to lose, and Saints is a team that is used to winning, so I think it humbled the guys a bit and just brought them back to their roots,” he said.
“We decided on Monday when we got back to practise to go back to the basics, see what we did wrong and just build from there,” he added.
He, however, said it would not be easy for Saints to retain their title.
“It’s going to be tough, we mustn’t fool ourselves. We don’t have the full team that has been playing all these years, there are a couple of new guys coming in, and basically half of the team has come up from our Premier Reserve team, so it’s going to be a tough battle but the spirits are high and I think its going to be a good battle if we meet Old Boys in the final again,” he said.
Against Wanderers, Saints attacked from the start, with Thomas Theron opening the scoring after three minutes. From there on it was one-way traffic as they romped into a 7-0 lead by halftime before completing an emphatic 16-1 victory.
Owen Hatton led the way with five goals, while Christian du Raan and Aiden Landry scored four goals each, and Theron, Gerhard Myburgh and Isaac Fallis one each. Tiaan Grobler scored Wanderers’ solitary goal.
Two days later Windhoek Old Boys were pushed all the way before beating School of Excellence Hockey Club 3-0.
SoE matched Old Boys throughout the match and it took a brilliant solo goal from Old Boys captain Ernest Jacobs to break the deadlock just before half time.
SoE had some scoring chances of their own but could not convert, and two goals in two minutes by Nico Jacobs and Dylan Finch sealed the match for Old Boys.
Captain Jacobs congratulated SoE on a fine performance.
“Kudos to the School of Excellence they came out gunning for us and made it a great game. They kept possession most of the time, but we pulled it through at the end, and I think we kept it clean as well, no chirping to the umpires, and it was a good game overall,” he said, adding that their victory against Saints had boosted their confidence.
“We’re obviously on a high – the points are kind of square at the moment, but the title race forward is going to be tough. DTS is another big contender that hasn’t played too many games, so this league is very interesting,” he added.
Saints now lead the log on 12 points from four matches, while Old Boys are five points behind, but with a match in hand.
The Women’s Premier League has already developed into a two-horse race between Saints and DTS who both beat Windhoek Old Boys over the past week.
On 21 April, Saints beat Old Boys 2-0 in a close encounter, with Azaylee Philander and Gina Olles scoring their goals, and two days later, DTS picked up a bonus point in a 5-1 win against Old Boys.
For DTS, Anthea Coetzee and Jaime Gillies scored two goals each, and Caitlyn Gillies one, while Kaela Schimming scored for Old Boys.
Saints now lead the log on 15 points from 5 matches, while DTS are on 14 with a match in hand. Old Boys are third on 4 points, with Saints II and Wanderers both on 2 points.
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