Africa-Press – Namibia. NAMIBIA’s women’s field hockey team got off to a winning start at the Africa Cup of Nations championships in Accra, with a 3-0 victory against Uganda yesterday.
After weathering a strong Ugandan onslaught in the first half, two goals in two minutes by Anthea Coetzee and Sascha Brinkmann put Namibia 2-0 ahead, before Tara Myburgh added their third in the final stages of the match.
Uganda did most of the early attacking with Lucky Akello and captain Norah Azum creating some chances, but Namibia’s defence stood firm. Namibia’s first real chance came after nine minutes when Sascha Brinkmann had a shot well saved, while Charlize Rix was just too late to connect a loose ball in the box, midway through the second quarter.
Akello and Doreen Asumwe continued to create chances for Uganda, but some strong tackling by Jahntwa Kruger and Britta Haensel kept them at bay. Namibia finally opened their account midway through the third quarter when they won a short corner and Coetzee’s low shot hit the back of the net.
Barely two minutes later it was 2-0 when Coetzee found an unmarked Brinkmann in the box, who’s first-time shot gave Ugandan keeper Syliva Giramia no chance.
Namibia upped the tempo in the final quarter, winning another short corner early on, but they could not convert their chance. Myburgh, however, sealed Namibia’s victory when she latched onto a great upfield pass by Kruger to beat Giramia with a back-stick shot.
In the final minutes, Uganda won a short corner, but Namibian keeper Petro Stoffberg brought off a fine save as Namibia completed an impressive victory.
For Namibia, Kruger had a fine match in midfield, breaking up several Ugandan attacks, while Rix, Coetzee and Brinkmann all gave solid performances. Namibia’s coach Melissa Gillies said it took them a while to adapt to the conditions.
“It was a bit of a shock to the system, because we had quite an early start at 04h30 this morning to get ready and travel to the pitch, for our match which started at 07h00 in the morning. We couldn’t find any footage about Uganda, so we didn’t know what we would be up against today, but what a feisty side, what a hard running team, they really engaged us and battled and fought for every single ball,” she said.
“I think it was quite a shock for some of our junior players who were getting their first caps today, and it was quite something to get used to in the first half,” she added. Gillies, however, said her team settled in well and found another gear in the second half.
“We upped our tempo, we locked up the middle really well, we created little pockets of space and threaded some beautiful balls through and scored some fabulous goals. The drag flick off the shorty was amazing, Tara’s back-stick was great, and what composure from Sascha Brinkmann to get her first goal on her first cap, so I’m a super proud and happy coach,” she said.
Brinkmann, meanwhile, was thrilled with her debut goal. “It’s a dream come true to score a goal at this tournament. That was one of my goals and to achieve it is indescribable. Our next match against South Africa will be a tough one, but hopefully we can work together as a team and pull through,” she said.
Namibian captain Wiandri Ludwig said they took a while to adapt. “We didn’t know what to expect from them and they came out very hard at us and in the first two quarters when we weren’t really ready for them. But we had a good talk at half time and Melissa gave us a few tips and I think we came out harder in the third quarter,” she said.
“We will have to improve our ball speed and running lines, and attacking for our next game against South Africa, but I think we learnt a lot from this game. We are adapting to the weather, we are sweating a lot, but it’s going great and it was a good first match,” she added. Namibia will now play South Africa, who beat Zimbabwe 3-0 yesterday, at 17h00 this afternoon.
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