LONDON – Having raced to an early 2-0 lead, thanks to efforts from drag-flick specialist Justin Reid-Ross and a powerful strike from striker Lloyd Norris-Jones, inside the first 10 minutes it looked as if the world No 12-ranked side had enough fight left in them to end the pool stages on a positive note.

But it wasn’t to be as they allowed the world No 9-ranked South Americans back into the game 15 minutes later as Gonzalo Peillat netted from a short-corner. The scores were level just before halftime as Argentina made it 2-2 thanks to a field goal from Lucas Rossi.

The side in blue then took control of matters early in the second half as Peillat added his second from a penalty corner before Facundo Callioni extended the lead to 4-2 and the South African side – yet to register a win in the competition –  were forced into a panic.

Callioni added a second before South Africa showed signs of a fightback but it was a case of too little too late event though Jonty Robinson closed the margin to 5-3. Robinson had a later chance to close the gap even further but his goal was disallowed following a video referral and the game was over with six minutes left as Peillat bagged his hat-trick.

“I don’t know what to say. We’ve done it to ourselves again. Put our noses in front, played some incredible hockey but didn’t come away with a result, its pretty much been the order of our pool,” said  despondent coach Gregg Clark at the post-match press conference.

The side will now be forced into getting motivated for one last game, a classification encounter to avoid finishing the Games as the wooden spoonists when they play India tomorrow – a proposition that both Clark and captain Austin Smith admitted would be hard to get motivated for.

“We’ve been here before, we faced the same situation in Beijing. I think we’ve played much better hockey this time round but we find ourselves in the same position. Its an incredibly difficult period to remain focused and get the players motivated,” said Clark.

“It’s not going to be easy. We’re still here representing SA and we’ll definitely want to avoid finishing with the wooden spoon and finish on a high,” said Smith.