Africa-Press – Namibia. A youthful Namibian women’s indoor hockey team made a strong start to the Nkosi Cup tournament in Cape Town by winning their opening two matches over the weekend.
On Friday they beat Zimbabwe 7-3 and the next day beat New Zealand by the same score to go second on the log just behind Australia on goal difference.
On Sunday, Namibia drew 2-2 against Australia and with one group match remaining against South Africa, they have now already clinched a spot in the knockout stages of the competition.
What made their performances even more remarkable was the fact that they fielded a very young team, with many of their top players not available for the tournament.
The team includes six school girls in the Grogli sisters, Tamara and Leila, Sienna Richards, Ottilie Hinda, Alexandra Erasmus, and Allison Januarie, who is only 14 years old.
Against Zimbabwe, captain Kiana Cormack put them ahead with a short corner goal in the first quarter, while a field goal by Jerrica Cormack and two short corner goals by Tamara and Leila put them 4-0 ahead by halftime.
Hinda added a field goal and Tamara Grogli another short corner goal as Namibia streaked into a 6-0 lead by the third quarter, and although Alexei Terblanche scored a quick hattrick for Zimbabwe in the final quarter, Sunelle Ludwig sealed a 7-3 win for Namibia with a last minute penalty goal.
Namibia faced tougher resistance from New Zealand, who went into a 2-1 lead by the first quarter, but Namibia struck back to draw level at 3-3 by halftime. After the break Namibia edged 4-3 ahead by the third quarter before finishing strongly to complete a comprehensive victory.
Ludwig scored a hattrick, Kiana Cormack two goals, and Tamara Grogli and January one goal each.
Namibia coach Shayne Cormack said she was delighted with their progress.
“We came here with the aim of building for the next three years. We set our hopes on beating Zimbabwe and then see how we cope against the other teams,” she said.
“We knew we’ve got it in us, we were just not sure about our lack of experience, but these little ones showed us today that they are not afraid, they showed that they are from the land of the brave. Our experienced players are starting to trust them, and they found some nice combinations on the field of play, so I’m really happy with how its progressing so far,” she added.
At a stage against New Zealand, nearly all of Namibia’s teenagers were on the field with the average age being about 16, but they came through with flying colours.
“We tried a new press that we haven’t played for a while and we were a little nervous at one point when gaps started opening up, so we thought we needed to get some experience on the pitch. We wanted to make some changes, but then they went and scored an amazing goal, so that did a lot for our confidence going forward,” Cormack said.
Men also through to knockout stages
Shayan Azadeh in action for Namibia against the United States. Photo: ACK_Sport_photography
Namibia’s men, meanwhile, also qualified for the knockout stages after winning two of their opening three matches.
On Friday they beat the United States 6-5 in a thriller, but then lost 5-3 to Australia the next day. On Sunday they bounced back with an impressive 6-3 victory against New Zealand.
Against the USA, Namibia took an early lead through a field goal by Dylan Finch, while Ernest Jacobs made it 2-0 from a short corner.
Alexandre Beauduin however opened USA’s account, and they drew level after a fine field goal by Alberto Montilla, but Shayan Azadeh restored Namibia’s lead with a field goal by the end of the third quarter.
In a frantic final quarter the lead changed hands a few times, but goals by Delron Handura, and Finch and Jacobs’ second each gave Namibia a tight win.
On Saturday, though, Namibia had no answer to the brilliance of Aiden Dooley who scored all five of Australia’s goals in their 5-3 victory.
Dooley gave Australia a 2-0 lead with two field goals before Dylan Finch opened Namibia’s account from the penalty spot to make the halftime score 2-1.
A short corner goal by Dooley put Australia 3-1 ahead but Namibia reduced the deficit to 3-2 through a great diving goal by Finch.
Austrlia, however, pulled away with two more goals by Dooley, and although Ernst Jacobs scored a late short corner goal for Namibia it wasn’t enough as Australia ran out 5-3 winners.
South Africa, meanwhile, took the early lead after beating New Zealand 5-1 and United States 6-1 in their opening two matches.
In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch.
It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.
For More News And Analysis About Namibia Follow Africa-Press
